


Spotlight (Producer!Woozi x Reader)

by full_hoon



Category: K-pop, SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:29:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 29,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24646462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/full_hoon/pseuds/full_hoon
Summary: Lee Jihoon, more commonly known as Woozi, is an up-and-coming music producer. He gets the opportunity to work with one of the most popular newcomer idols, but his attention is drawn to her backup singer, a girl who dreams of being in the spotlight one day but is hindered by a dark secret – one that would bring harm to many.
Relationships: Lee Jihoon | Woozi/Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 44





	1. Prologue

There are a lot of miserable people in the world, Woozi believed. The poor, the sick, the addict, the abandoned, the loser… But to Woozi, the most unfortunate ones in the world are those who are stuck doing a job that they despise with wholeheartedly.

That’s why he considered himself lucky. Being able to earn a living as a music producer is like a dream come true to him. A lot of people don’t quite understand his love for his job, but there is nothing more fulfilling than listening to a finalised song composed and written by himself after spending hours — or more often than not, days — cooped up in his studio.

He did not expect the popularity and fame that came with the release of his music. But, he is extremely thankful for those who enjoy his work.

There are a lot of miserable people in the world, but Woozi hoped that his music could bring a glimmer of hope and happiness into their dull lives.

* * *

“Yo what’s up, Jihoon!” a loud voice broke the relaxing silence in his dimly lit studio.

Without even having to turn around in his seat, Woozi knew who the unexpected visitor was. “Don’t you have your own dance studio to go to?” he asked.

“I was at my studio when I sent you the twenty messages that you didn’t even bother to read! It’s an emergency, so I had to come here to talk to you in person!” Hoshi huffed as he plopped himself down on the couch behind Woozi.

With a roll of his eyes, Woozi turned around to face Hoshi, who was looking at him expectantly. “Well, as you can tell, I’m in the middle of working. So, make it quick.”

Already used to Woozi’s blunt personality after years of friendship, Hoshi simply ignored his comment. “I got insider information about your next project! You’re working with Park Jihyo, aren’t you?”

“Who told you that?”

“I have my sources!” Hoshi winked cheekily, “is it true or not?”

Woozi sighed, fully aware that there is no secret in the industry that his energetic friend does not know. “We haven’t started on it yet, but I sent her the demo track yesterday and we have plans to begin recording next week.”

Upon hearing his confirmation, Hoshi bounced excitedly in his seat. “That’s great news!” he exclaimed. “Working with one of the most popular idols will surely boost your popularity and recognition in the mainstream audience!”

“You know I don’t care much about fame. I just want to make music and hopefully, someone would appreciate it,” Woozi said.

“Yeah yeah yeah, whatever you say, my friend. You do realise that the more people listen and buy your songs, the more money you’ll get, right?” Hoshi asked, unbothered by the lack of excitement that Woozi is showing.

Woozi glared at his friend, knowing the hidden intention behind his words. “You’re just saying that because you want me to buy you a meal or something.”

Hoshi laughed. “If that’s your way of inviting me, I’ll kindly accept your generous offer,” he said before attempting to pat Woozi on the shoulder, only to have the shorter male dodge his advance with a scowl on his face. Hoshi pouted half-jokingly before adding, “but I’m also truly excited for this collaboration between you two.”

Woozi understood Hoshi’s point, for he was surprised, too, when his manager first told him that Jihyo’s company had reached out and expressed an interest for Woozi to produce the title song for her next album. While he hasn’t been actively following the news about all the newcomer idols, he knew that Jihyo has one of the biggest fan followings out of all the new debuts in the past year, and have even won multiple rookie awards upon her first time getting nominated.

While himself, on the other hand, have had multiple songs enter high rankings on music charts since he debuted as a producer three years ago, he has never won any music awards (though he is proud to say that he has been nominated on several occasions). Of course, Woozi was aware that such achievements do not represent much, sometimes he felt that it would be good for his hard work to be acknowledged.

Seeing that his question has been answered, Hoshi decided it was time for him to leave now. After all, he knew that even though Woozi had been quite patient with him today, it would be better not to push his luck by bothering the man any longer.

“Anyway,” Hoshi said as he stood up, “you better work harder because I discovered a new restaurant the other day, and their all-you-could-eat hanwoo beef barbeque buffet looks super delicious, so you get that bread and take me there next time!”

“Who said I’ll buy your annoying ass a meal? Piss off,” Woozi sneered. Both of them knew that his words were meant as a joke, and he would definitely take Hoshi to the said restaurant (though he would complain about it the whole time).

Stopping in front of the studio door, Hoshi turned around once again. Woozi was about to snap at his friend, but saw a rare serious expression on his face and knew that what he was about to tell him was the real reason he had to come over to speak to him.

“One little advice: you’re going to need a lot of patience and restraint for your upcoming collaboration. Like, a lot.”

Woozi gave Hoshi a confused look. “What do you mean?”

“Let’s just say that Park Jihyo’s public image is quite different from her personality in private.”

And with that, Hoshi left the room, abandoning Woozi to figure out the meaning behind his last comment.


	2. Chapter One

In an industry where new groups are being manufactured and pumped out ceaselessly, time is crucial. The more time one spends preparing and practising offstage, the more time they are not actively promoting and performing onstage; the less time they are seen by the public, the faster and easier will the audience forget about them, moving on to the next eye-catching superstar.

The truth is harsh, but that is the reality of the entertainment industry.

This was something Woozi learnt about since the moment he started producing. He has seen many talented producers and idols capture the public attention, but unable to maintain their popularity for long; not to mention an even larger number of hopeful wannabes who never even got their fifteen minutes of fame after dedicating years of their childhood training for a near-impossible dream.

That is why Woozi was annoyed by the current situation that he was in.

In fact, ‘annoyed’ would be an understatement.

Woozi was exasperated. Irritated. Infuriated.

The staff who led them into the recording room also seemed at a loss, unsure of how to deal with the situation.

“Can you call Jihyo-ssi’s manager again to ask for their whereabouts, please?” asked Seungcheol.

The staff nodded before quickly leaving the room to make the seventh call of the morning.

Woozi sighed loudly, running his hand through his hair. “This is unbelievable! Didn’t she just make her debut a year ago? She’s practically still a rookie!”

Seungcheol nodded in agreement, but he knew that his most urgent task at the moment is to calm Woozi’s anger before he does something he might regret. “Perhaps she has her reasons. She is a very popular and busy idol after all.”

“Popular or not, she is being disrespectful. You would think that since she’s working under one of the biggest entertainment companies in the industry, they would be better at managing their artists’ time.” Woozi said with a roll of his eyes.

“Maybe she gets away with things like this  _ because  _ she’s under a big company,” Vernon said.

Woozi clicked his tongue and was about to make another comment when the staff rushed back into the room. “Their car just arrived in the car park, so Jihyo-ssi should be here in a few moments.”

Seungcheol thanked the staff before she apologised for the nth time since she led the three men into the room an hour and thirty minutes ago. “Looking on the bright side,” Seungcheol added, “we don’t get a lot of opportunities to work with equipment in a major recording label. We are quite lucky that they offered to work in their studio this time.”

Again, Woozi narrowed his eyes. “Equipment is important, but it’s not necessary to make good music. If the artist isn’t performing well — or in this case, doesn’t even bother to show up — even the best equipment won’t make a difference.”

“You know that’s not what I mea—”

The door swung open before Seungcheol could finish, and Jihyo strolled into the studio with her manager and four other girls following close behind. “We’re very sorry! An emergency came up right when Jihyo was about to leave her house this morning, so we had to deal with that first!” Jihyo’s manager, Jeonghan, explained.

Woozi nodded numbly. “We understand. Jihyo-ssi is a very busy idol after all.”

Jihyo flashed her signature smile at the man. “Thank you for being so understanding, Woozi-sunbaenim! I’m a huge fan of your music, especially the song ‘Once’ with Raina-sunbaenim!”

‘ _ That’s not even my song, that’s Bumzu-hyung’s song, _ ’ Woozi thought to himself, but knew better than to correct the idol in front of him. Instead, he accepted the compliment with a forced smile.

“Shall we start recording now?” Seungcheol asked, stepping in before the conversation dragged on.

“I haven’t had the time to warm up yet because the morning was so hectic! Let’s do that first!” Jihyo suggested instead.

Woozi fought the urge to scream at the unprofessionalism that the girl is showing. He was aware that he has no choice but to agree with everything she said, given that she is a famous artist under a major entertainment company, while he is a relatively unknown producer who belonged to a small recording label.

Without a word, Woozi sat down at the piano placed in the corner of the room and Jihyo stood next to him. “What vocal warm-ups do you normally do?” he asked.

“Well, I just do whatever the PD-nim tells me to! I don’t really know, so you can decide!” she answered way too cheerfully, her tone unapologetic.

It was at that moment that Woozi knew that this recording session was going to be a dreadfully long one — and as Hoshi said to him, he was going to need a lot of patience — and there was a part of him that even had the silly thought that he would have much preferred if Jihyo did not show up at all.

‘ _ You can do this, Jihoon, _ ’ he thought to himself as he swallowed his anger and began to play the piano.

* * *

He tried. He really tried. But Woozi could feel his patience running thinner with every passing second.

After spending half an hour doing vocal warm-ups, Woozi thought they could begin recording the song. Turns out, Jihyo only listened to the demo track twice since she received it a week ago. So they spent the next thirty minutes replaying the song over and over again as they went through the lyrics together.

When Jihyo finally stood in the recording booth, they were already two-and-a-half hours behind schedule.

And despite having gone through the demo track together multiple times, she kept getting the melody and lyrics wrong. To make things even worse, as they were recording, three of the girls that arrived with Jihyo — her backup dancers who she introduced as Sana, Momo, and Mina — kept chatting and laughing loudly on the couch behind Woozi and Vernon.

Jihyo’s manager did not do anything to stop them, only scrolling on his phone on the other side of the room. Seungcheol decided to take things into his own hands by politely asking them to keep the volume down multiple times in the past hour, and they would apologise and stay quiet for a minute or two before reverting to their loud voices as if they were hanging out in the comfort of their dormitory.

Woozi felt a headache coming on as his anger continued to build up from the high-pitched laughter and the irritation from how little progress Jihyo was making.

Finally having enough of this nonsense for an hour, Woozi simply told everyone in the studio that he needed a break before stepping out of the room.

The room fell into a tense silence. Seungcheol signalled Vernon to follow Woozi, to which Vernon quickly obeyed. After apologising to Jihyo and Jeonghan and telling them they will be back in a few minutes, Seungcheol followed the other two.

Jihyo stepped out of the recording booth leisurely, “what’s wrong with him?”

The three girls on the couch shrugged. “No idea, but he seemed like he was in a bad mood since the beginning,” Sana said.

“That’s why PD-nim should’ve continued to be the producer for this comeback!” Momo complained, “why did he make you work with some nobody anyway?”

“Who knows why,” Jihyo said as she gestured to the girls to move aside so she could sit down. “But he’s kind of cute.”

The three girls burst out laughing at Jihyo’s remark. “Cute? Really?” Mina asked. “As in, he’s good-looking, or like a child? He’s so short! We’re probably the same height as him!”

Jihyo joined in their laughter after hearing Mina’s comment. “True, he’s much shorter than I anticipated!”

A few minutes passed by as the four girls in the room continued to chat before Jeonghan cleared his throat, getting their attention. “They’re still not back, should I go check where they are?”

Jihyo shook her head and averted her gaze to the girl who hadn't said a word as she sat in the corner of the room. “Hey, you! Go check where they went. And while you’re at it, go get us some iced coffee!” Jihyo ordered.

The girl nodded, and without another word, quickly exited the studio room.


	3. Chapter Two

A feeling of relief washed over you the moment you stepped out of the recording studio.

You couldn’t help but feel bad for the producer and his team. Having worked under Jihyo even before her debut, you were no stranger to her work ethic. Her questionable professionalism was something you disapprove of, but you were also more than aware that you were not in any position to say anything.

Hence why you kept quiet the entire time.

You searched the corridors of the building, but Woozi was nowhere in sight.

Instead, you spotted his assistant Vernon as you arrived at the main lobby, who was pacing back and forth in distress. Quickly making your way over to him, his eyes widened ever so slightly with recognition. When you were close enough, you asked about Woozi’s location.

“He’s stuck outside with Seungcheol-hyung,” Vernon explained. “They went out to get some fresh air and asked me to stay here just in case someone comes looking for us, but the security won’t let them in when they tried to come back because they don’t have a staff card on them. I wanted to look for help in the studio, but I forgot the way back there.”

You nodded before asking him to follow you, and the two of you walked towards the entrance of the building, where you could already hear Seungcheol arguing with the guard from a distance.

“I told you already! He’s a producer working with Park Jihyo and I’m his manager!” Seungcheol said.

The security guard shook his head. “Of course you are,” he scoffed, “you actually think I’m stupid, don’t you? So many crazy fans have tried to sneak into the building using the same excuse!” He then shooed the two away dismissively and added, “now get out of here before I call the police on you two!”

Seungcheol saw Vernon and quickly waved. The security immediately turned around and quickly bowed when he spotted you. “Sorry for the commotion, [Y/N]-ssi! Please rest assured, I’ve got everything under control here!”

“It’s a misunderstanding! I know these two. They’re with me. Please let them in,” you clarified.

The guard’s posture stiffened upon hearing your words. “Is that so?” he asked in confirmation, to which you nodded. Clearly embarrassed, he — while avoiding eye contact — motioned for Woozi and Seungcheol to enter. “My apologies for the mistake,” he said before returning to his post.

If Woozi was in a bad mood when he exited the recording studio, his mood has definitely worsened after the situation. The tension in the air was so thick, and you gulped, not knowing what to say in this situation to break the awkward silence.

Fortunately, Seungcheol spoke up first. “Thank you for coming to find us,” he said to you while bowing deeply.

“Oh, no! I am incredibly sorry about what just happened!” you replied, returning the bow. You hesitated for a second, before continuing, “please also accept my apologies for what happened in the recording studio.”

Seungcheol and Vernon both shook their heads. “It’s alright,” Seungcheol said, “we know it’s not your fault.”

Even though he reassured you that it was not your fault, you still felt guilty for not saying anything. And judging by Woozi’s clenched jaw and crossed arms, you knew that he was still displeased about the whole situation.

Seungcheol must have noticed the worried glances you sent in Woozi’s direction. “I’m serious. Please don’t worry about it,” he said again. You nodded without a word. “But really, thank you for coming to save us from that sticky situation, um...” he trailed off. “Sorry, I don’t think Jihyo-ssi mentioned your name when we were doing introductions.”

“Oh, right,” you mumbled. That was how things have always been. “I’m [Y/N].”

“Thank you, [Y/N]-ssi!” Seungcheol and Vernon said, both of them flashing you a friendly smile. Seungcheol nudged Woozi’s side, and the producer gave his manager a small glare before he sighed in defeat.

“Thanks.”

“Could you kindly lead us back to the studio?” Seungcheol asked.

You were about to nod when you remembered Jihyo’s order. “I’m afraid I have some errands to run,” you said, “do you remember the way back?”

Seungcheol shook his head sheepishly and explained how this is the first time they have ever worked in such a large entertainment company building. You nodded understandingly. Even though you have been working in this building for years, there are still places that you have never been to, and you may or may not have gotten lost multiple times yourself.

“I just need to quickly buy coffee from the staff cafe,” you told them.

“Perfect! We were starting to get thirsty too,” said Vernon.

You led the three men to the cafe, located on the other side of the building. After paying for Jihyo and the girls’ drinks, you also paid for Woozi and his team. Of course, Seungcheol refused to let you pay for them, but after explaining that you have a company credit card and that you could get a discount for using it, he reluctantly agreed to let you pay.

While waiting for your orders to be made, you expected the three men to talk amongst themselves while you stood nearby. After all, you were just someone who works for Jihyo.

Instead, they surprised you by asking you questions. “So,” Seungcheol started, “are you Jihyo-ssi’s assistant?”

“My official job title is her backup singer, but I suppose I do act more like her assistant — or, more like her errand girl.”

Your answer seemed to have caught Woozi’s interest, for he looked up from his phone for the first time since the group arrived at the cafe.

“If you don’t mind me asking, are you two on bad terms or something?” Vernon asked directly.

Seungcheol immediately smacked the back of Vernon’s head, scolding him for his ‘rudeness’ before apologising to you. You shook your head and reassured him that it wasn’t a big deal.

“I’d say our relationship is strictly business only.” You kept your answer short, not wanting to go into too much detail about your relationship with Jihyo.

Vernon was about to ask you to further elaborate on your answer but was cut off by the vibration of the pager on the table, the small plastic box signalling that your order was ready.

After collecting your drinks, the four of you quickly returned to the studio, where Jihyo and her team were waiting for you.

Jihyo clicked her tongue when you finally returned with her drinks. “What took you so long?” she asked impatiently. You quickly bowed and apologised.

“Sorry about the delay,” Seungcheol stepped in, “we asked [Y/N]-ssi to show us where the cafe is since we were getting thirsty as well.”

The scowl on Jihyo’s face was instantly replaced by her charming smile. “Oh, I’m sorry, she must have been a bother!”

Confused, Seungcheol tilted his head. “Bother? No way! She was very helpful! She helped us get out of a misunderstanding with a security guard.”

“Thank you for your hard work, my dearest [Y/N]!” Jihyo forcefully said to you. You caught the twitch in the corner of her eye. ‘She’s getting angry,’ you thought to yourself and lowered your gaze promptly.

If Seungcheol caught the passive-aggressive tone in Jihyo’s voice, he did not point it out. Instead, he asked, “shall we resume now?”

That was when Jeonghan interfered. “My deepest apologies, Woozi-ssi and Seungcheol-ssi, but Jihyo has an acting class that she has to attend in half an hour, so we better be on our way now.”

“But what about the song? We still haven’t finished recording yet,” Seungcheol said.

“We shall continue that tomorrow,” Jeonghan proposed. Without listening to what Seungcheol has to say about his suggestion, Jeonghan ushered Jihyo out of the room, with the three girls following close behind.

Before completely exiting the room, Jihyo turned around and gave Woozi a wave. “I’ll see you again tomorrow, Woozi-ssi!”

And with that, Jihyo’s team left the studio, where the atmosphere became tense once again.


	4. Chapter Three

The silence only hung in the air for a few seconds; but to you, it felt like minutes as you observed the emotions flash on the faces of the three men in front of you.

Surprise. Shock. Dumbfound. Annoyance. Anger.

You held your breath, lost for words as you were put in this situation for the first time in your life. But you knew you had to say something, especially since you were the only one in the room who works for Jihyo, you had the responsibility to deal with the aftermath of her unprofessionalism — even though it’s not your fault.

“I sincerely apologise for this,” you began with a deep bow. “I wasn’t aware that she had a schedule after this. I should have brought you back here sooner.”

Even without lifting your head, you could feel their stares on you.

“Please don’t apologise, [Y/N]-ssi. We know it’s not your fault,” Seungcheol kindly said. You did not dare to lift your head, still too afraid to face them directly. Seungcheol noticed your unchanged position, and he quickly added, “please lift your head, [Y/N]-ssi!”

You apologised once again before you slowly raised your head, meeting with Seungcheol’s gentle smile. Vernon, who stood behind him, also gave you a small smile.

Woozi, on the other hand, had his arms crossed as he looked at you. Your face heated up ever so slightly after meeting his intense gaze, and you immediately turned your attention away from him.

“Should we leave now, then?” Vernon asked.

“Actually, if you don’t mind, we could record all the backing vocals right now,” you suggested.

“But don’t you need the lead vocals recorded first before you do that?” Seungcheol asked.

You shook your head. “Normally, that’s the case. But Jihyo-ssi prefers to fully follow the demo track, so it’ll be fine as long as my backing vocal matches the demo.” You could still see the doubt on their faces, so you further stated, “don’t worry, I’ve been listening to the demo track on repeat since I got it last week.”

Seungcheol turned to Woozi, who kept quiet the entire time. “What do you say?”

Finally, Woozi nodded in agreement. “Let’s do that.”

You bowed in gratitude for accepting your suggestion and made your way into the recording booth. Woozi and Vernon took their seats in front of the mixing console while Seungcheol returned to his previous seat behind them.

Through the headphones, Woozi asked if you needed time to warm up. “Nope, I’m ready to go whenever you’re ready,” you told him, and you could hear him sigh in relief.

“Let’s not waste any more time then. We’ll start by recording the chorus.”

The backing track started, and without hesitation, you began to sing.

“ _ LOVE RUMPUMPUM, LOVE RUMPUMPUM  
_ _ Ireogom aetaneun LOVE SWEET HEART (my love sweet heart becomes anxious)  
_ _ LOVE RUMPUMPUM, LOVE RUMPUMPUM  
_ _ Maeumi kungkungdaeyo (my heart is pounding)  
_ _ LOVE RUMPUMPUM _ ”

The music paused, and you immediately turned your attention back to Woozi, who stared at you with a stunned expression. Flustered, your first reaction was to apologise. “I’m sorry, that must’ve been really bad! Maybe this was a bad idea after all!”

Woozi jumped out of his chair. “No, no! Quite the opposite, actually!”

“What?”

“That was perfect!” Woozi complimented with a grin. You were not expecting him to praise you, much less with such enthusiasm. In fact, this was the first time you’ve seen him with a positive reaction today.

In seconds, your face turned red from embarrassment. Your mouth fell open, but no words came out.

“Your voice is stunning, [Y/N]-ssi!” Vernon remarked as well, even going as far as to giving you two thumbs up through the glass window.

“You’re overreacting,” you giggled awkwardly, red-faced.

Vernon waved his hand, dismissing your comment. “Woozi-hyung rarely compliments people, so you know he means it when he does!”

Shyly, you mumbled a ‘thank you’ into the microphone.

And with that, the rest of the recording session went on smoothly.

* * *

It took less than an hour to finish recording your backing vocals.

When you walked out of the recording booth, everyone else in the room had a pleased smile on their face. The lighthearted mood made you smile as well, and you were glad that the trouble from earlier seemed to be forgotten.

“I’m really impressed,” Woozi complimented again as Seungcheol handed you a bottle of water. You thanked him bashfully, the blush on your cheeks never left.

“Sorry, what did you say your name was again?” You introduced yourself to him once more. “It’s really nice to meet you, [Y/N]-ssi. I’m Woozi,” he said, as he held a hand out for you to shake. You accepted without hesitation.

“I didn’t get the chance to tell you earlier, but I’m a huge fan of your music, especially the song ‘I Don’t Miss U’ you wrote for Bumzu-sunbaenim!” you told Woozi, who looked surprised.

“Not a lot of people know I wrote that song,” he said, “but thank you.”

With your part of the job done and everything wrapped up for the day, the four of you decided to call it a day. You led them outside the building and bid your farewells, but before you could leave, Woozi shocked you with a question.

“Will you be there for the session tomorrow?”

In all honesty, you did not plan on coming to the recording studio tomorrow since your part was already done, and you knew that Jihyo would much prefer if you were not present unless necessary. So you told him ‘no’, but that you would probably be somewhere else in the building, practising on your own.

“I guess I’ll see you around then,” he said in the end before you parted ways, his words left a small part of you wondering why.


	5. Chapter Four

Your best friend Dahyun waved you over the moment you stepped into the restaurant.

“Sorry I’m late!” you apologised, to which she dismissed with a wide grin. She had already ordered the food when she received your message twenty minutes ago, so you two could start eating the moment you arrived.

As usual, the meal began with the clinking of glasses. Soon, you began to dig into your delicious meal.

“How was work today?” Dahyun asked.

“It was horrible,” you told her without a second thought.

She shook her head with furrowed brows, her face clearly unamused. “Jihyo pulling her usual bitchy antics?” You immediately shushed her and looked around to make sure no one heard what she said. “What? It’s not like she’s the only person in the whole of South Korea with that name,” she said with a roll of her eyes.

You gave her a disapproving look, but knew she was right. With a sigh, you explained the whole story from Jihyo showing up late to work, how unready she was, to her leaving all of a sudden without notifying the producer’s team about her schedule beforehand.

Throughout your storytelling process, she kept on clicking her tongue. “I knew she was a spoiled brat since day one, but I never thought she would pull something like that,” she said after you concluded.

You nodded in agreement. “I was shocked too. But I was also surprised at how the producer never once snapped at her.”

With her mouth full of food, Dahyun asked who the producer was. You scolded her for acting unladylike before revealing Woozi’s name. She almost spat her food out.

“You mean THAT Woozi? The one who has like four or five songs on the charts right now as we speak?” You nodded. “Dude, he’s a big name right now! One of the trendiest producers in the industry! And you’re telling me that bitch did THAT?”

Again, you quickly shushed her and apologised to the customers around you, who were giving you two weird looks from your friend’s sudden outburst. “Calm down,” you said to her sternly. She gave you a sheepish smile and apologised half-heartedly.

“What else happened? You seemed like you were in a good mood when you came here, so I’m sure the day didn’t end that badly.”

One thing that Dahyun always surprised you is that despite her silly and childlike personality, she has always been unexpectedly observant of the people around her — and of course, that included you, whom she has known for years.

“Well, he kind of complimented on my singing…” you said shyly.

Dahyun, who was sipping on her drink, started choking upon hearing your answer. You swiftly handed her some tissue before reaching to rub her back gently. She recovered moments later. She wiped the stray droplets of water on her chin and laughed at her little accident, receiving more weird looks from the people around you.

“What else did he say?”

“That was it, really.”

“Boring!” Dahyun scoffed jokingly. You glared at her and was about to change the subject, but she was not done with her inquiry quite yet. “Is he good-looking?” she asked.

“Why does that even matter?” you questioned back, shifting in your seat.

“Well, he’s known to prefer keeping things on the low-key. I don’t think I’ve ever even seen a photo of him. Just curious, y’know?”

And she was certainly right about that. Despite having debuted as a producer for three years, you don’t remember seeing Woozi go on any shows to promote his music, nor have you seen him accept any interviews. Heck, even though he is on social media, he posts only once every blue moon. ‘ _ I guess I could entertain her for just a bit, _ ’ you thought.

“He’s cute, I guess.”

Your answer piped Dahyun’s attention. “Wait, for real? Cute as in, worthy-of-debuting-as-an-idol cute, or I-would-totally-date-him cute?”

With flushed cheeks, you refused to continue this conversation. This only further fueled Dahyun to continue firing questions at you. You knew you had to stop her before she got over excited again. You settled on changing the topic by asking her about her job instead. She childishly crossed her arms when you did so, muttering under her breath how you were no fun at all.

“The kids were rowdy as always, I’m struggling to control them in class, clearly underpaid for the hard work that I’m putting in. You know, the other day I created a new dance routine, but the boss said it’s too difficult to teach those brats...” she ranted. It sounded like a complaint after complaint, but you knew better than anyone that she loved her job as a dance instructor.

You gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder and playfully suggested to exchange jobs with her. She flicked your hand off her, before adding another light flick on your forehead as a punishment for even suggesting it.

“No thanks. I’d rather deal with a thousand of those brats than having to deal with one bitchy Park Jihyo,” she said.

You huffed. “Maybe you should stop calling her that,” you told her earnestly.

“Maybe you should stop letting her push you around and start standing up for yourself,” she retorted.

“You know I can’t do that.”

“And why’s that?” she asked, her tone turned serious in just a blink of an eye. “You’re no longer a child, [Y/N]. You should—no, you need to fight back. It’s been years. Aren’t you tired of all this?”

Your heart tightened at her words. “Both you and I know it’s not that simple,” you croaked out.

Dahyun reached over the table and took your hand into hers, giving it a firm squeeze. “You know I’m only saying this because I want you to be happy. I’m just so sick of seeing her and your shitty fa—that man getting away with everything they’re doing to you when you deserve so much better than this.”

“I know, and I couldn’t be more grateful for having you as my best friend.” You gave her a sad smile.

You could tell that Dahyun wanted to say more, but thankfully, the dessert that a waiter was holding as he walked past your table quickly caught her attention, successfully saving you from continuing this distressing conversation.

You knew that your best friend was right, that you could not be a pushover and avoid your problems forever, that one day you will have to defend yourself against Jihyo.

Eventually, you hope that in the future, you could work up the courage to do so. But right now, you simply do not dare to fight back, knowing better than anyone that alone, you are fighting a losing battle.


	6. Chapter Five

Walking into the same recording studio the next morning, Woozi was relieved to see that Jihyo had already arrived before the scheduled 9 a.m. time — this time without the three girls accompanying her.

“Good morning, Woozi-oppa!” she greeted cheerfully with a bow. Woozi returned the greeting, less enthusiastically. “It’s alright for me to call you oppa, right?” Woozi nodded, though, in his head, he would much rather stick to the formalities in the workplace, especially when he did not have the intention of befriending the idol any further after their collaboration.

However, having worked with Jihyo for a day, he already knew that things would go much smoother if he just went along her every command (as long as they were reasonable).

“Oppa, have you had breakfast yet?” Jihyo asked, already extending her arm out towards Jeonghan as he handed her a paper bag before Woozi could even reply. “I had my manager buy breakfast from my favourite cafe before I came here today! Let’s eat first before recording, yeah?”

Woozi declined her offer at once. “I already ate.”

Jihyo pouted. “What a pity! I wanted to share a meal with you!”

She sulkily nipped on her sandwich, and Woozi internally let out a sigh. ‘ _ It would be a pain in the ass to work if she continues to be in a bad mood, _ ’ he thought to himself. “Look,” he said as he took out one of the sandwiches from the paper bag, “I’ll have half a sandwich if that’s alright with you.”

A charming smile immediately broke upon her face. Woozi gave half a serving to Vernon and gave him a warning look as if he was daring the younger boy to say no. Vernon gulped before he reluctantly took the food as Jihyo grinned at him.

“Thank you for the food,” both Vernon and Woozi said. Jihyo watched as they ate the sandwich, a satisfied smile on her face.

Then, her gaze shifted towards Seungcheol, who was sitting next to Jeonghan at the side of the room. She immediately offered him a serving as well, to which Seungcheol accepted, albeit rather unwillingly.

The men quickly finished their meals, not wanting to waste any more time. Jihyo, on the other hand, seemed to think differently as she chewed her food slowly while trying to start a conversation with Woozi. The producer only responded using short, one-word answers, suppressing the impulse to urge the singer to hurry up.

Woozi was unsure whether Jihyo was too dense to realise his disinterest in small talks, or she was simply too invested in her own rant to notice that Woozi did not care about what she had to say. But either way, he could feel his patience running thin once again as she continued to ramble on and on about whatever she was going on about.

Woozi stopped listening about three minutes after she began. At this point, he had no idea what on earth the one-sided conversation was about. All he knew was that her voice was extremely annoying.

After a long thirty minutes of Jihyo’s excessive babble, she finally finished her sandwich.

“Please take good care of me today too, oppa!” She winked at Woozi flirtatiously before standing up from her seat and entering the recording booth.

With a deep breath, Woozi turned his attention towards the computer screen in front of the producer seat as he opened up the saved file from yesterday.

* * *

Recording went surprisingly smooth today, and it was shortly after one in the afternoon when Jihyo finished recording the song.

Since it was lunchtime, Jihyo offered the group to have lunch together. Without hesitation, Woozi declined her offer once again. “I better go back to my studio to start post-production,” he excused.

Jihyo tried to convince him that work could wait, but thankfully, Jeonghan reminded her that they were already behind schedule with the project and that the CEO would not be happy if the comeback were to be delayed.

Although visibly disappointed, the idol accepted her manager’s words. “Let’s have a celebratory meal together when everything is done!” she proposed to the producer again. And with that, she left the studio with her manager.

“Well, she was shockingly nice today,” Seungcheol commented once the sound of their footsteps could no longer be heard.

Vernon nodded in agreement. “I didn’t think she would buy us food and all that. Apparently, she even listened to the demo track last night.”

“She probably had to make it up for her unprofessional behaviour yesterday,” Woozi said with a shrug.

After saving the file to their laptop and packing up their belongings, the trio left the studio as well. “Should we grab some lunch before going back to the studio?” Seungcheol asked as they waited for the elevator.

“You two go ahead. There’s something else I need to do before I leave,” Woozi told them, his words causing his companions to stare at him with wide eyes.

“What? I don’t remember you telling me you have other things to do today,” his manager asked, confusion clear on his face. He knew Woozi’s schedule like the back of his hand, as the producer would always tell him his plans beforehand, no matter how small and insignificant the appointments were.

“It’s nothing, really. You remember [Y/N] from yesterday?” The two men nodded. “There’s something I want to discuss with her.”

Vernon smirked. “Oh, does Jihoon-hyung have a crush?” he teased the older male, to which the male sharply declined.

“That’s not it, you idiot. It’s music-related.”

Seungcheol also had a teasing smirk on his face. “That’s why you asked her would she be here today, didn’t you?”

Woozi narrowed his eyes at his manager. “Shut up,” he muttered under his breath. “You two are making a big deal out of nothing.”

A ‘ding’ came from the elevator, and Woozi’s companions stepped into the machine without him. “Good luck!” Seungcheol sang. Vernon also winked at Woozi, and if it wasn’t for the closing doors, Woozi surely would have smacked his friends for making fun of him.

Following the guiding signs in the building, Woozi made his way towards the individual training rooms, where he hoped to run into the backing singer from yesterday.


	7. Chapter Six

As if fate wanted the two to meet — at least, that’s what Woozi believed — he could hear your voice coming from the room at the end of the corridor. He stealthily moved along the corridor, careful not to make a sound, and successfully arrived in front of the door that separated you from him.

He hid behind the door and cautiously looked through the little glass window. Luckily, you had your back towards the entrance as you sang, a hand gripping the microphone as you smoothly sang out the lyrics without missing a note.

If anyone saw Woozi, there was no doubt that they would immediately call the security to get him away. He knew he looked like a stalker, creeping outside the room. But, he just could not help but pause whatever he was doing and pay full attention as he listened to your singing.

It was not just the way you hit every single note perfectly and effortlessly. There was something mesmerizing about your voice: smooth and angelic, yet with just the right amount of hoarseness. There is softness, like a lullaby that makes the listeners feel calm as their worries and problems melted away; but there is also sharpness and power in your voice, the kind that strikes the core of one’s heart like a bullet.

As a music producer, Woozi has heard countless singers’ voices and was impressed by many. But he has never heard a voice as divine as yours.

He waited until you finished singing the song before he lightly knocked on the door. You quickly turned in your seat and stood up to greet the producer as he opened the door with a small smile. “I hope I didn’t interrupt your practice time,” Woozi said.

“Don’t worry about it, I was about to take a break anyway,” you replied. “Did today’s recording session go well?”

Woozi nodded briefly. “We finished recording today.”

You let out a chuckle. “That’s good to know.”

A short silence settled in the small practice room as Woozi took a quick around him. Although this was his first time in a major talent agency building, he expected their practice rooms to be larger in size and well-decorated. Instead, the room seemed rather poorly maintained, with paint shedding from parts of the wall, one of the ceiling lights flickering from time to time. He also noticed one of the floor planks bulging when he entered.

An old piano seated right behind you, but judging by the layer of dust on its surface, it has been a while since someone has played it. Next to you was a small table, with an old desktop computer and a pair of speakers placed on top of it, and a microphone was connected to the machine.

“This room seems rather… shabby,” he commented, carefully choosing his words as not to offend you.

“I’m the only one who uses this room. The other trainees and artists never come in here,” you explained. Woozi nodded, though he was confused as to why you had to practice in such poor conditions when you work for one of the company’s most loved idols. “Anyway, what brought you here? Surely you wouldn’t have come all the way here just to visit this worn-out practice room.”

“Oh, right,” Woozi muttered to himself, scolding himself for getting distracted. “Mind if I take a seat?”

You grabbed a stool from the corner of the room and welcomed the producer to sit down. He cleared his throat before looking straight into your eyes, making you hold your breath nervously.

“I’ll get straight to the point,” Woozi began, “after hearing you sing yesterday, I was so inspired that I wrote a song in two hours, which is a new record for me. Of course, the song is in no way completed to perfection, but I know for a fact that it would fit your voice perfectly. So, I was wondering if you would like to come to my studio and record this song that I wrote just for you?”

“What?” you breathed, your eyes widened in shock.

Only then did Woozi realise that he may have been too straightforward with his request, especially to someone who he has only met once.

“S-sorry,” he immediately stuttered, his face heating up in embarrassment. “I didn’t mean to pressure you into anything. I was just so impressed by your voice that so many new ideas came into my mind when I returned to my studio. Before I knew it, I already had most of the track composed and the lyrics written.”

“Oh no, that’s not what I mean!” you uttered red-faced. You took a deep breath to calm your pounding heart. “I’m extremely flattered, I really am. But I’m afraid I will have to decline your offer.”

Woozi’s breathing hitched when he heard your answer. “Why?”

“I just… can’t,” you said, breaking eye contact with the man.

“Okay, I know I said I’m not pressuring you into doing this, but I cannot imagine anyone else singing this song but you. Your voice is one of a kind,” Woozi tried to reason with you.

You shook your head dejectedly. “I appreciate the opportunity, but I can’t say yes.”

“Is it because you’re working as a backup singer for Jihyo-ssi? Is it part of the company rules that backup singers aren’t allowed to work outside their contract?” he asked hastily.

“It’s not that simple…” you whispered. Your eyes continued to avoid him.

“You know what? Let me talk to Jihyo-ssi, or her manager, or the CEO, or whoever is in charge of this. They will understand if a song producer spoke directly to them, right?” Woozi said as he got up from the chair, determined.

Caught up in the moment, you quickly grabbed his arm. “Please! Don’t do that! I’ll get in so much trouble!” you begged as tears began to well up in your eyes.

Flustered by the suddenly emotional girl in front of him, Woozi froze in the spot. He did not expect things to turn out this way. Sure, he knew his request came out of the blue, but he thought that even if you did not accept his offer immediately, you would at least consider it.

Instead, here you were, gripping onto his arm as if your life depended on it while you struggled to keep your tears from spilling out of your eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Woozi apologised for the second time today, as he stiffly placed a comforting hand on top of your cold one. He took a seat once again as he waited for the girl in front of him to calm down.

The two of you sat in silence for a long time. Woozi did not know how much time had passed, but as he watched the girl in front of him taking deep breaths to compose herself, he felt a sudden sense of guilt for causing someone he barely knew to almost have a breakdown in front of him.

Finally, your reddened eyes met his once again.

“Sorry,” you said softly as you removed your hand from his arm. This was the moment Woozi realised he still had his hand on top of yours, and he removed his hand hurriedly as a blush threatened to appear on his cheeks.

“No, it was my fault for being too pushy,” Woozi replied.

Now that you seem to have calmed down, Woozi thought it was the right time to leave. But before he stood up, he took out a business card from his wallet and handed it to you.

“This is my business card,” he told you. You cast him a questioning glance. “If you ever change your mind about my offer, just give me a call. You have so much talent, and it would be a shame to waste it.”

And with those words, Woozi gave you a small nod of goodbye.


	8. Chapter Seven

You knew you should be concentrating on the dance rehearsal that was taking place in front of you, but you could not help but slip back into your thoughts as you recalled the small conflict between yourself and Woozi a week ago.

You were filled with gratitude by his invitation. Never in a million years would you have imagined a music producer to offer you the opportunity to sing a song, much less a song that he has written specifically for you. It sounded too good to be true, to the point where you started to doubt that it even happened.

But as you stared at the business card he gave you, you knew it was not just a dream.

Over the past few days — despite having already said no to Woozi’s request — you have not stopped thinking about his words.

‘ _ You have so much talent, and it would be a shame to waste it. _ ’

It was the first time someone has ever said that to you. Sure, during your trainee days, the vocal trainers have complimented your voice once or twice, but you never thought of yourself as talented or special in any way.

In fact, you did not treat being a backup singer as a position that was wasting your potential. You might not be the focus of the song, nor are you standing in the centre of the stage performing, but it did not change the fact that you were still doing what you loved — which was singing.

At least, that was what you have always told yourself since you were assigned to be Jihyo’s backup singer.

However, after meeting Woozi and seeing how he reacted with such enthusiasm to your voice, you were suddenly not so sure that you were content with your current state of affairs anymore.

And that was what has been troubling you in the past week. As you kept telling yourself that you are satisfied with being an unknown backup singer as long as you could sing, a small voice in the back of your mind constantly told you that you were simply lying to yourself.

You wanted someone else’s advice. You would have asked Dahyun, but she would tell you to accept the offer immediately, maybe even scold you for rejecting Woozi’s invitation in the first place. Whom you needed was someone who works in the industry. Someone who is trustworthy and would not reveal your secret to others.

“Earth to [Y/N]!” a loud voice shouted right next to you all of a sudden, getting you out of your thoughts.

You turned your attention back to the present, only to realise that everyone else had left the room and was nowhere to be seen. Everybody except for yourself, and the grinning young man next to you, who was waving his hand in front of your face.

“Sorry about that, Hoshi-oppa,” you giggled in embarrassment, before adding, “where did everyone else go?”

“Jihyo said she needed a break and wanted to get ice cream, so everyone left to get food from the cafe,” Hoshi explained. You nodded, slightly surprised that she did not order you to go get food for everyone instead. “I was surprised to see you here today. I thought you normally didn’t attend dance practice.”

“I wasn’t expecting myself to be here too. But Jeonghan-oppa told me to come here today, not sure why though.”

“What were you thinking about? You seemed pretty absorbed in your thoughts,” he laughed, nudging you playfully.

You did the same gesture back to him. “It’s nothing important,” you lied, not wanting to worry the choreographer.

Hoshi pulled a face and crossed his arms across his chest. “I’m upset that my dear [Y/N] wouldn’t even share her thoughts with me. Is your oppa really that untrustworthy?”

You rolled your eyes at his childish behaviour. “I just don’t want to burden you with my troubles.”

“I’ve known you ever since you were a trainee and have always treated you like my little sister. Of course you can confide your worries to me,” he said with a soft smile, an expression that was a contrast to his usual cheerful grin.

“Promise you won’t tell?” you asked him.

“I pinky swear,” he joked, though he did raise his pinky finger and the two of you locked your pinkies, making a pinky promise.

You took a deep breath. “You know the producer Woozi, the one who produced the title track for Jihyo’s next comeback?” Hoshi nodded. “Well, last week he came to me and invited me to sing a song. But it wasn’t just any song — it was a song he has written specifically for me.”

Hoshi’s eyes widened in shock. “Did you say yes?” You shook your head. “Why?”

“You know why,” you told him in a deadpan voice.

He sighed. Hoshi has been a choreographer who has worked with many of the artists in your label, including Jihyo. Even before she debuted, he had been working as one of the dance instructors for the trainees, which was how you two became acquainted. Despite the complicated situation that you were in, he still treated you with kindness and fairness — unlike many others in the company.

“You seem surprised. I thought you knew about all the secrets and gossip in the industry,” you joked light-heartedly, trying to lighten the suddenly sour mood.

Hoshi huffed. “I do know about almost everything! It just caught me off guard because I’m friends with Woozi and he never told me about this,” he whined.

This time, you were the one who was caught off guard. “I didn’t know you two were friends. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because if I told you, you definitely wouldn’t have told me about this.” You glared at the choreographer, knowing full well that he was right. “Did he say anything else?”

“After I said no, he tried to convince me to change my mind. He even offered to talk to someone in the company about it. But I stopped him before anything else happened. And I… may or may not have cried in front of him.”

Just the memory of becoming emotional in front of someone who’s practically a stranger made your face heat up. Hoshi must have noticed your pinked cheeks, for he had a smirk on his face that he did not even bother to hide.

You cleared your throat as an attempt to keep him from getting sidetracked. “Anyway, he gave me his business card and told me to call him if I change my mind.”

“As much as I would love to tease you about what happened, I do think you want some real advice, right?” You nodded, thankful that the young man decided to address your problem seriously. “I’ve known this guy for years, way before he even started producing, and he has always been a direct and blunt man; but, I have never seen him being so straightforward about something, especially towards someone he has only just met. The fact that he even offered to talk to someone in your company about it shows that he is really keen on working with you. As a friend, I would suggest you take up his offer.”

“But you kno—”

“Yes, I know what you’re worried about, and I know it’s not a simple matter that can be resolved within the snap of a finger. But my instincts are telling me that it will be worth it in the end.”

Before you could refute his statement, the sounds of footsteps and chattering could be heard coming from the corridors, indicating that the group is returning from their break.

Hoshi stood up from his seat next to you and ruffled your hair affectionately. “Trust me,” he said, “my tiger senses are always right.”


	9. Chapter Eight

You took a deep breath as an attempt to calm your rapidly beating heart. Your finger hovered on top of the dial button several times but retracted every time it was about to touch the screen.

You were not sure why you were feeling so apprehensive about calling Woozi. After all, he did give you his business card, which means he would be expecting your call, right? But what if he has lost interest in working with you? You already said no in the first place. And a week has passed since the two of you have last spoken. Surely a busy man like himself would not have been waiting for your phone call. You’re just a nobody.

But then you remembered the look of sincereness in his eyes when he complimented your voice the first time he heard you sing. And how serious he sounded when he gave you the offer, how determined his tone of voice was when he told you he wrote you a song in a short time, how genuine he was when he said you should not waste your talent.

Maybe those were just words he said out of politeness, but to you, those were words of approval that you have always wanted to hear.

You took another deep breath. With shaky hands, you pressed the call button.

You held your breath as the dialling tone rang. Once. Twice. Thrice.

“Hello?” he answered.

“H-hello,” you stuttered.

“Who is this?” he asked.

You facepalmed, cursing at yourself for not introducing yourself properly. “Sorry, it’s [Y/N].”

“Oh, [Y/N]-ssi! I’ve been waiting for your c—” he cut himself off suddenly and cleared his throat. “I meant, I’m glad you called. Have you changed your mind about my offer?”

“Sort of,” you said.

“What do you mean?”

“I still can’t take up your offer entirely. But I thought I should at least listen to the song you wrote. It would be rude for me not to since you wrote it for me. I couldn’t let your hard work go to waste like this,” you explained.

“That’ll be… great,” Woozi said calmly, though you thought you could almost hear a slight disappointment in his voice. “Would you like to meet at my studio now? I know it’s a bit late, but I would like you to hear the song as soon as possible.”

You glanced at the clock on the wall. It was a few minutes past ten in the evening, and you really should head home soon so you could make it to dance practice tomorrow morning in time. However, you knew that you would be too anxious to fall asleep, and very likely unable to focus tomorrow.

So, you agreed to Woozi’s plan.

A few minutes after the two of you hung up the phone, you got a text from the producer with his studio address. You quickly packed up your belongings in the practice room and departed the company building, setting off to Woozi’s.

* * *

Soon, you arrived at the said address. Woozi stood in front of the building entrance and bowed in greeting as you neared him. You returned the gesture with a small smile.

The two of you made small talks as the producer led you to his studio. He apologised for making you travel all the way here at this time of day, and you reassured him that it was fine. Instead, you apologised for not contacting him sooner. A slight awkwardness hung in the air between you two.

“Please take a seat and make yourself comfortable,” he said. You thanked him as you took a seat on the couch, taking a quick look around the room.

Unlike your practice room, Woozi’s studio was nicely furnished. Dimly lit with neon lights, a number of recording equipment and musical instruments were placed in one end of the room. Behind the workstation were a soft, white couch and a short coffee table, facing a large television screen. Although the studio was quite small in size, it felt quite cosy and homely.

You then turned your attention back to Woozi, who was seated in his chair in front of the computer screen. He opened a few files before turning back to face you, and the two of you made direct eye contact.

You realised he must have thought you were staring at him this whole time and quickly diverted your gaze elsewhere in the room. Self-conscious, you let out a chuckle and tucked your hair behind your ear. From the corner of your eye, you could see Woozi remove his cap to run his hand through his hair before putting the cap on again.

He cleared his throat. “So about the song… I thought your voice would fit a ballad well. For the demo, I kept the instrumental quite simple with just a piano and guitar accompaniment; but I think it would be quite nice to add some drums and an orchestral accompaniment later as well. As for the lyrics, although it is sorrowful, there is also a sense of hope. That’s why I titled the song ‘Downpour’ because, after a heavy fall of rain, the sun will surely return and shine once again.” He stopped talking all of a sudden before his cheeks reddened. “I’m ranting again, aren’t I?”

You chuckled again, this time a genuine laugh. “I can tell that you’re really passionate about music, especially since I noticed that you seem to become more talkative whenever you’re talking about music. It’s cute,” you said. Woozi’s eyes widened in shock and he blushed harder.

Your final comment finally registered in your mind and you covered your face, feeling your face heat up in embarrassment. “Please forget I said that,” you mumbled.

“Shall we just listen to the song now?” Woozi asked, and without waiting for your reply, turned back to face the computer and pressed play.

The song began with a short piano introduction before Woozi’s soft voice flowed through the speakers around the studio. The two of you closed your eyes as you enjoyed the euphonic tune.


	10. Chapter Nine

As the song played, you suddenly realised how delicate Woozi’s voice was. You’ve heard him sing before when you were studying the demo track for Jihyo’s song but never took notice of how nice his voice was.

Although gentle and soothing, you could feel the intense emotions that he has poured into every word, every syllable, every note. The simple instrumental arrangement complimented his soft voice well. As he said, the lyrics were sorrowful, but there is an unexplainable sweetness in his tone of voice that comforted you — almost as though he understood all your pain and struggles — and was telling you that he will be there for you.

The song soon ended. “What do you think?” Woozi asked, looking at you expectantly as his fingers fidgeted.

“That was beautiful,” you whispered.

“Thank you,” Woozi said shyly. The corners of his lips lifted and his eyes sparkled. “I’m sure it would become even more beautiful if you were the one who sang it though. I did write it with your voice in mind, after all.”

You quickly shook your head in disagreement. “But you have a lovely voice! There’s no way I could ever top that. I think you should release the song as it is,” you said. The producer froze after hearing your comment, his brows furrowed. “You’ve already got such a successful career as a producer. I’m sure if you debut as a singer, your career would flourish even further.”

Woozi pursed his lips as he looked down at his fidgeting fingers that rested on his lap. You were unsure whether your words have offended him, so you quickly apologised. He looked up again, his eyes searched yours.

“I can’t,” he mumbled, a hint of sadness in his voice.

“It’s complicated?” you asked. He nodded. “I guess we’re in the same position then,” you chuckled humorlessly.

Silence fell between the two of you once again.

When you decided to call Woozi and suggest that you listen to the song, you told yourself that you would be satisfied after listening to the song — as a way of showing that you were grateful that he has written the song for you. However, now that you were here in Woozi’s studio, and the song already ended minutes ago, you realised you did not feel fulfilled.

Your heart felt content, knowing that a musician was so inspired by your voice that he had written you a song; but, there was also an undeniable heaviness in your chest.

This feeling was unlike the anxiety you felt when you watched Jihyo act unprofessionally in the studio, neither identical to the state of panic you fell into when the producer in front of you first invited you to sing a song nor similar to the nervousness when you made the phone call.

It was almost as if your body purposely gave you this feeling of uneasiness, a warning that what you were doing was a mistake. But what exactly was the mistake? The fact that you made the decision to come here? Or the fact that you were turning down what possibly is your only chance in life?

You were unsure of what to do. Your heart was telling you to change your mind and say yes, to take that one step, and to change your life before it was too late; but your head was telling you to say no, to continue with your life and your job as a backup singer, and not to cause unnecessary troubles for those around you.

“Just so you know, I have no intention of letting anyone else sing this song,” Woozi remarked, his voice bringing your attention back to the present.

Your eyes widened. “But you shouldn’t let this beautiful song go to waste!”

He shook his head. “It will be a waste if I let anyone else other than you sing it. If you decide to accept my offer, of course, I’ll be more than happy to work with you. But, if you still don’t want to, I won’t force you to do it. I’ll just keep the song in my archive and hope that one day you’ll change your mind.”

“But why are you going this far for somebody like me?” you asked, genuinely curious.

Woozi flashed a small smile. “I may not be a talent scout, but as a music producer, I know talent when I hear it. And I knew from the moment I first heard you sing that you have endless potential.”

His words made you flush in surprise. You opened your mouth, ready to deny his statement, when the studio door swung open, revealing Vernon. You and Woozi quickly turned your attention towards him, the three of you staring at one another awkwardly.

“Oh, uh, sorry, did I interrupt you two?” Vernon said cooly.

Woozi jumped out of his seat and darted towards the younger male. “No, no! Not at all! I didn’t know you were coming!”

You watched as the two of them spoke to each other in a hushed tone. Vernon had a smirk on his face, but you could not see Woozi’s face since he had his back facing you. However, based on the way Vernon wiggled his eyebrows at the producer and Woozi’s fisted hands, you have some sort of idea as to what the assistant assumed is happening between yourself and Woozi.

“I should go now,” you announced as you stood up.

“No, I’ll leave,” Vernon said instead, already turning around as he spoke.

Woozi grabbed his shoulder and forced him around, pushing his assistant into the studio. “Didn’t you say you left something here? Isn’t that why you came back?” he asked through gritted teeth.

Vernon grabbed a laptop charger that was on the ground next to the couch, holding it up to show Woozi before shoving it into his bag. “Are you leaving as well, [Y/N]-ssi? I’ll walk you to the station,” Vernon offered. You nodded, picking your bag up as well. “How about you, Woozi-hyung?”

“I still have some work to finish,” the producer said calmly, returning to his seat in front of the desk. The two of you bid farewell to the producer and headed out.

The moment you two were out of the building, you spoke. “Nothing is going on between us.”

“I didn’t say anything,” Vernon replied.

“I’m just saying it in case you misunderstand,” you said.

Vernon put both his hands up in surrender jokingly. “Okay,” he said, though his tone was mischievous, letting you know that he was not convinced.

You sighed but decided to let it go. Nothing was going on between you and Woozi, so there was misunderstanding to clear up in the first place, right?


	11. Chapter Ten

You knew you were in trouble the moment you walked into the dance studio the next day.

Jihyo stood in the middle of the room with her arms crossed, glaring at you. Her three minions did the same behind her, smugness visible on their faces. After bowing to greet them, you cowered in the corner of the room, too afraid to make eye contact with her.

Jeonghan walked in a few moments later and stormed towards you the moment he spotted you. You stood up almost immediately, your head lowered.

“Where were you last night?” Jeonghan asked harshly.

“I was with a friend, sir.”

“Oh really? Sana saw you with a boy at the subway station late last night. I thought we made it clear that you’re not allowed to date,” Jeonghan shouted angrily. You could hear the other girls in the room snicker as they watched the manager scold you.

“He’s just a fr—”

“What did I say about talking back?” Jeonghan said, displeasure clear in his tone.

You apologised with a deep bow, biting your lips to swallow the whimpers as you blink back your tears. You heard footsteps before someone pulled on your hair, forcing you to look up.

Jihyo gave you a dirty look. “You’re such a slut. But I guess that’s what they mean when they say ‘like mother, like daughter’,” she sneered.

At the mention of your mother, you tensed up. “Don’t drag my mother into this,” you said with a glare, causing her to tighten her grip on your hair.

“I can say whatever the fuck I want about your mother. She’s a slut, a whore, a homewrecker!” Jihyo scorned.

“Woah, woah, woah! What’s going on here?” someone asked from the door.

Jihyo quickly released you before painting a sickeningly sweet smile on her face. “Nothing, Hoshi-oppa! We were just having a nice little talk with [Y/N]!”

Hoshi looked at you worriedly, but you simply shook your head, telling him to let it go. He frowned, but before he could say anything, another figure appeared behind him.

“Papa!” Jihyo greeted, already making her way over to her father with light footsteps. “I didn’t know you were coming to practice today!”

“Hoshi was telling me that the choreography is almost complete, so I wanted to come and watch,” said Park Jinyoung, the CEO of the company. “I don’t have much time to spare, so let’s get to it now.”

With his order, Jihyo sent one more glare at you before she stood in front of the mirrors, her three backup dancers surrounding her. Hoshi and Jinyoung sat down with their backs against the mirror, while Jeonghan stood next to the laptop, ready to start the music. You simply plopped down where you were in the corner of the room, your head buried behind your crossed arms on your knees.

* * *

The music came to an end, and the only sound in the room was the panting girls as they waited nervously for the CEO to comment on their performance.

“That was good,” he said, “but you still need to practice more before we shoot the music video.”

Jinyoung stood up, patting Hoshi on the back as a gesture of acknowledgement for this time’s choreography. You expected him to leave the dance studio then, but instead, he headed towards you. You promptly straightened up, bowing at the man in front of you.

“Did Jeonghan tell you about the arrangements for this comeback?” he asked. You shook your head timidly, already knowing you will be getting another scolding from the manager for exposing him like this. “I want you to participate in music shows this time. Not on stage, but to sing backing live backstage.”

Before you could even react, Jihyo beat you to it. “But papa, why?” she whined.

“This decision was made by the executives collectively. We want to enhance the quality of live performances as much as possible, and this is one of the new things we’re trying,” Jinyoung explained.

Jihyo, however, was still not having it. “But I can perform live perfectly fine on my own! Is this really necessary?”

The CEO furrowed his brows in disapproval. “A company decision is a company decision.” His stern tone left no room for any further arguments. And with that, he left the dance studio.

All eyes in the room were on you and Jihyo now. She stormed towards you with a hand raised high in the air, ready to strike your face. However, before she could slap you, Hoshi stepped in front of you, hiding you from the angered idol. “That’s enough,” he said.

“Oppa, stay out of this! You don’t understand!” Jihyo complained, still trying to reach you.

“I know it’s none of my business since I’m just a choreographer, but I am in charge of this practice right now, and I will not tolerate any violence in here.”

Jihyo looked daggers at Hoshi — which you realised was the first time she has behaved in such an ill-mannered way so blatantly to someone other than you.

“I suggest you take a breather outside and calm down before we continue,” Hoshi said. The girl rolled her eyes before storming out of the room, her minions and Jeonghan following closely behind.

Once the door was slammed shut, Hoshi turned around to face you, concern was written all over his face. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” you answered weakly. “You shouldn’t have done that,” you continued, “now that you’ve openly sided with me, she will give you a hard time.”

Hoshi frowned. “She has always given me a hard time, but it’s nothing compared to the way she treats you.”

“I’m used to it,” you muttered.

“And you shouldn't be,” the choreographer sighed.

You faked a smile. “Thank you for standing up for me, Soonyoung-oppa.”

Like always, he ruffled your hair affectionately — but this time considerably more gentle compared to other times. “I wish I could do more to protect you from harm,” he said defeatedly.

Even so, both of you knew that there was only so much his power allowed him to do in this case.


	12. Chapter Eleven

“Where are we going?” you asked Hoshi for the fifth time in the past twenty minutes. Much like the previous four times you asked him, he absentmindedly told you that you would know once you arrive, his concentration on his phone as he typed furiously.

You sighed. After dance practise was over, Hoshi invited you to accompany him to his next appointment, complaining that his beloved apprentice was too busy with university coursework to come with him. You agreed, knowing that this was his way of keeping you company and making sure you were okay after the incident earlier in the morning.

You were not in the mood to practice in the company anyway — especially knowing that Jihyo was in a foul mood and you would very likely become her punching bag if you were to be left alone.

Getting off the train station, you began to recognise the streets as you neared the destination. Even though it was late at night when you came here for the first time, you knew exactly where Hoshi was taking you since it was only yesterday when you were in the same studio.

Hoshi barged in without knocking the door. The eyes of the men in the room darted towards him, their facial expression indifferent. “You’re late,” Seungcheol said.

The choreographer simply flashed him a toothy grin, mumbling a half-hearted apology. “That’s why I got us food! Hope you’re hungry!” He lifted the two heavy bags of Chinese takeaway as he made his way towards the coffee table, Vernon quickly clearing the table for Hoshi to place the food down.

You stood by the door, unsure of what to do. “What are you standing there for? C’mon, come sit down!” Hoshi urged as he waved you over. You nervously sat down next to Hoshi on the couch.

“Is Chan not coming today?” Vernon asked.

Hoshi shook his head. “Said he has an exam coming up. That’s why I brought [Y/N] along, hope that’s alright with you,” he said, looking at Woozi. The producer simply nodded at the choreographer before his eyes met yours, and Woozi gave you a small, polite smile in return.

“Let’s dig in, I’m starving!” Hoshi said, already stuffing his mouth with food before he could finish the sentence.

The meal went by rather quickly, the four men finishing their food wordlessly. Even though Hoshi told you that there was no need for you to hurry, you could not help but take bigger bites and chew faster than normal to not be left behind.

Sat across you, Vernon noticed the slight panic on your face when Woozi, Hoshi and Seungcheol put down their chopsticks. “Don’t worry about it,” he assured you before tilting his bowl to show you that he still had half a bowl left, and added, “I’m a slow eater as well, so just take your time.”

You gave him a thankful smile and slowed down once again, deciding that this would be a good opportunity to ask about why Hoshi came here today.

“I think Woozi-hyung and Hoshi-hyung are doing a special collaboration project. Woozi-hyung composed the track and the three of us wrote the lyrics together,” Vernon explained.

You always knew that Hoshi enjoyed singing and rapping, but you were not aware that he was interested in composing and writing as well. After all, he works as a choreographer and runs his own dance studio, so Vernon’s words caught you by surprise. You voiced out the thought.

“It’s not anything serious that he’s gonna release, I guess. More like something we do for fun?” he said.

“So, you want to become a composer?” you asked.

“Not exactly,” Vernon replied, “I want to become a rapper. I know how to write lyrics, but composing is difficult for me. I want to be able to compose and write my own tracks, so when I found out that Woozi-hyung was looking for an assistant, I immediately applied to work here.”

From there, the conversation flowed smoothly as you asked questions about Vernon’s dreams and aspirations. Despite his calm and carefree demeanour, he has many big ideas in his head that he was not afraid to share with you, excitement clear in the way he spoke.

Then, Woozi asked everyone to quiet down as he prepared to record with Hoshi. Vernon excused himself to help set up the microphone. Hoshi took this short moment to check up on you. “Are you enjoying yourself?” he asked.

“Yeah,” you said plainly. The choreographer grinned and gave you a thumbs up, then went to stand in front of the microphone.

Hoshi gave Woozi a nod, signalling that he was ready, and the producer pressed play, the sound of marching footsteps and drumming played through the speakers around the room. You sat back on the couch as you watched Hoshi enthusiastically rapped out the lyrics, and you bit your lip as you tried to suppress the giggles from the silly gestures that he made as he recorded.

Despite what Vernon said about this song being something they do for fun, Woozi was meticulous as he corrected every little detail and made Hoshi do several takes. Unlike when he was recording with Jihyo, however, he allowed Hoshi to joke around — even laughing at some of his stunts and tricks.

This was the first time you have seen Woozi so carefree, you suddenly realised. In the last few meetings, he came off as someone serious and reserved; the only occasions where he would smile or express interest was when it involved music.

But right now, as you observed him watching Hoshi with what almost looked like a tender smile, you realised that he was capable of being laid back and easygoing as well — which sounded stupid now that you thought about it — he is human just like everyone else, after all.

Something you have always admired about Hoshi was his ability to brighten up the mood no matter what. Before you even realised, the corners of your lips lifted into an amused smile — one that was similar to the expressions on Woozi, Vernon and Seungcheol’s face.

When the recording was finally over, everyone in the room was in a good mood thanks to Hoshi’s charismatic performance. Excluding the producer, everyone else in the room clapped and cheered, Hoshi soaking in the applause from the small audience as he bowed like he had just completed an entire concert.

“How was that, my dear [Y/N]?” Hoshi asked, pointing a finger at you dramatically. Raising the tone of your voice, you playfully squealed like a fan, causing laughter to erupt the room at your little skit.

“So you do know how to have fun,” Woozi remarked. Seungcheol gave the back of his head a light slap and told him off for being rude. “Sorry, that came out wrong,” Woozi continued, “you always seemed tense and on edge whenever we met, so I thought you were the type of person to be uptight about everything.”

Your eyes widened upon his comment, fully aware that you had thought the same thing about him. You blushed shyly, unsure of how to respond.

“Oh shush, Jihoon!” Hoshi spoke up instead, his hands on his waist as he pointed at Woozi. “Of course [Y/N] knows how to have fun! Otherwise, I wouldn’t be friends with her!” He then stuck his tongue out at you childishly, which made you roll your eyes at his words.

All of a sudden, Hoshi’s eyebrows shot up and his lips formed a small ‘o’. Immediately, you were put on guard by the change in his expression. You knew that look on his face too well — that look of when an (often bad) idea popped into his mind.

You sent him a pointed look, warning him not to do or say anything stupid. Of course, he ignored you and turned his attention back to Woozi.

“Why don’t we let [Y/N] record something as well?”


	13. Chapter Twelve

“No!” you shouted, the sudden rise in your voice startling everyone else in the room.

“Why not?” Hoshi asked, a solemn look on his face.

“You know why,” you said.

“Is this about what happened this morning?”

You broke eye contact with him as memories from Jihyo’s rage from this morning flashed in your mind. The positive atmosphere in the room died out in an instant. No one dared to make a sound as they looked on, waiting for you to answer the choreographer’s question.

“What happened this morning...?” you heard Vernon asking Seungcheol in a hushed tone.

“Nothing,” you snapped without looking at him. From the corner of your eye, you could see him flinch in his seat, and you felt bad for him immediately.

Hoshi sighed. “[Y/N], I’m only suggesting it so you can have fun as well.”

You lifted your gaze and pursed your lips. ‘ _ Perhaps I am overreacting, _ ’ you thought. But you knew better than anyone in the room the consequences of going against the company’s rules. “Even if what happened this morning didn’t happen, it is against the company’s rules for artists to work with producers outside without the company’s permission,” you clarified. “Yes, I’m not a recording artist in the company, but I am still a staff member under the same contract and therefore, have to follow the same rules that apply to Jihyo.”

“But we’re not going to release the song or anything like that. Right, Woozi? I’m sure you have a lot of songs in your archive that you’ve written but have no plans of releasing,” Hoshi pressed on, this time dragging the producer into your quarrel.

Woozi narrowed his eyes at his friend before letting out an exaggerated sigh. “I do have a few,” he said, throwing a knowing glance at your direction.

“You don’t have to entertain Hoshi-oppa’s nonsense,” you told him, “I’m fine with just watching you guys do your thing and have fun.”

The producer shook his head and turned around in his chair to face the computer screen. “I’m not doing this for him,” he remarked a few moments later. You waited for him to say more, but he did not.

The studio fell quiet once again as everyone waited. Woozi continued to search for something on his computer, and you took the moment to apologise to Vernon. “I’m sorry I snapped at you,” you said.

The assistant flashed you a half-smile and a thumbs up. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sorry for being nosey,” he replied.

You watched as Woozi clicked open a file before he stood up and began to search through one of the binders on his shelf. He motioned for Seungcheol to help him and the two of them spoke in hushed voices before the manager opened another binder, taking out a piece of paper.

Seungcheol handed you the sheet, to which you accepted reluctantly. The producer sat back down in his chair and looked at you. “This is a song that Seungcheol-hyung, Vernon and I wrote and recorded for fun a few weeks ago, called ‘Q&A’. We wrote the song with a female singer in mind, so if you don’t mind, would you like to try singing it?”

You bit your lips nervously, contemplating. If you say yes, you risk getting in more trouble when the company finds out about this; but if you say no, you risk starting yet another argument with Hoshi and once again disappointing Woozi. Neither options were in your favour, you realised.

But it was obvious to you that ‘no’ was the right option. Sure, having to deal with Hoshi’s whining and nagging would be a pain, but it was certainly better than having to face Jihyo’s wrath again. Not only would you be putting yourself and your job at risk, but you could jeopardise Hoshi and Woozi’s careers as well.

“I—”

“[Y/N], don’t you dare say no!” a female voice warned from the door, cutting you off.

All eyes looked towards the entrance and you gasped in surprise. “Dahyun! What are you doing here?”

She grinned slyly. “Hoshi-oppa texted me and I happened to be close by, so I decided to drop in and physically force you to record if you said no.”

You whipped your head and glared at Hoshi, who quickly hid behind Woozi’s chair with a sheepish smile. The producer pushed him away with a look of disgust.

Dahyun sauntered into the room, bowing at Woozi’s team politely since this was the first time they met. “Sorry for the sudden interruption! I’m Kim Dahyun, [Y/N]’s best friend! Thank you for taking care of her!” she beamed. They greeted back hesitantly, unsure of how to react to the situation.

You fought the urge to facepalm at your best friend’s embarrassing behaviour. You have always known that she was bold and unabashed, but this was one of the most extreme situations you have ever been in.

“Stop it!” you hissed with flushed cheeks, feeling ashamed on her behalf.

She ignored you and then proceeded to push you out of your seat on the couch. “Don’t mind me! I’ll leave once you’ve recorded that song!”

It was at that moment when you knew that you had no choice but to do as she said. Not only was your best friend bold, but she was also one of the most stubborn people you knew. If you said no, she would stay true to her words and physically force you to sing.

You turned towards the producer, who was observing the entire situation without a word. You apologised for your friend’s sudden arrival again. Taking a deep breath, you asked, “do you promise that you won’t release this song or tell my company about this?”

Woozi nodded firmly. “I promise.”

Stiffly, you stood behind the microphone that Hoshi was using earlier. The choreographer and your best friend both gave you a thumbs up while you stared at them, expressionless. They laughed it off before high fiving each other.

“I’ll play the song several times so you can learn it and practice before we start recording, is that alright?” Woozi asked, his face serious as he gets into his work mode. You nodded in understanding.

The song itself was catchy and upbeat, so you were able to sing along to the demo shortly.

“Ready to go?” the producer asked after you managed to sing through your parts without making a mistake in one go.

You could feel your heartbeat pounding loudly in your chest as you chewed on your lip. Glancing at your friends sitting on the couch behind you one last time, your eyes met Woozi’s as you nodded.

He cast a look at the lyric sheet that you were holding and frowned. “Relax,” he said softly. That was when you finally realised how tightly you were gripping the paper, to the point where it wrinkled under the pressure. “Take a deep breath,” he added, “just imagine yourself practising in your usual practice room.”

You closed your eyes and pictured the small, worn-out practice room that you were most familiar with. You inhaled through your nose deeply, feeling the air fill in your lungs, before you exhaled again. Opening your eyes, you were met with the unexpected sight of Woozi with the corners of his lips turned up in a warm, encouraging smile.

You swiftly broke eye contact with him as your heart raced wildly, nervousness filling your body once again — but this time for a different reason.

“L-l-let’s do this,” you stuttered.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

Dahyun and yourself bowed once again to the men in the studio before turning to leave.

From the corner of your eye, you could see your best friend stealing nervous glances at you, checking to see how mad you were at the stunt she pulled. You bit the insides of your cheeks and you suppressed the smile that was threatening to appear on your lips, crossing your arms across your chest.

“I’m sorry,” she said a moment later. “You know I did what I did with good intentions in mind, right?”

“What good intentions? I only felt like I was peer-pressured into doing it,” you remarked, trying to sound as stern as you could.

You watched as Dahyun furrowed her brows, carefully picking her words as not to further upset you. “Well… You see… I asked Hoshi-oppa to keep me updated on what’s happening between you and Woozi-ssi…” she trailed off, stealing yet another glance at you. “So when he told me his little plan, I just knew that I had to get involved.”

You rolled your eyes. ‘ _ Of course Hoshi had this all planned out, _ ’ you thought. He had always been someone who was teeming with ideas in his head and tricks on his sleeves — which was something you had always loved and hated about him at the same time.

“We wanted you to step out of your comfort zone, try something new, do something risky against the company’s rules! This was the perfect opportunity!” Dahyun continued to reason.

“Even if this means that I’ll be punished, and those two would possibly lose their jobs?” you asked pointedly.

Dahyun held her breath and halted her steps. She had a troubled look on her face as if what you suggested has never crossed her mind. She finally met your eyes and forced a laugh out. “D-don’t make a joke like that!” she stuttered, wide-eyed.

Unable to suppress your smile any further, you finally doubled over as you burst into laughter. Your best friend gave you a confused look until she realised you had only been pretending to be mad at her, and she exasperatedly smacked your shoulders.

The situation itself was not even that funny, yet you couldn’t help but shake with laughter. You could feel the tension in your body being released, finally laughing off the nervousness and anxiety that you were previously feeling while you were recording in the studio.

It took you a few more moments to calm down, and as you wiped a tear from the corner of your eye, you spotted your best friend standing there with her arms crossed, a pout of her lips. “You done?” she asked.

You nodded with a grin. “You should’ve seen your face!” you joked, the comment causing your friend to deliver yet another strike on you. “Sorry, sorry!”

“I genuinely thought you were mad at me! I know I might’ve gone overboard this time!”

“You did,” you quickly said, watching her face fall ever so slightly before adding, “but I had fun. So, thank you,” you concluded with a smile.

Dahyun huffed. “I thought so.”

“By the way, I wasn’t kidding when I said I could be punished and they could potentially lose their job if the company finds out about this,” you told her as you linked arms, the two of you continued to walk towards the metro station to head home.

“But they promised they won’t tell, so you’ll be fine, right?” Dahyun asked.

You nodded. You knew your best friend would not snitch on you, nor would Hoshi. Although you were worried that Woozi and his friends might tell on you, you believed that they would keep their words and keep the promise. They may not know the full story about why you were treated by the company this way, but anyone smart enough would know that it was best to not pry.

The two of you stood on the platform, waiting for the next train to arrive. “By the way, did something else happen between you and Woozi-ssi?” Dahyun asked, a smirk on her lips.

“What do you mean?” you asked as you averted your eyes from her.

She nudged your side teasingly. “Playing dumb, are we? I totally saw the way he smiled at you and how you blushed!”

A train arrived at the platform, and you quickly dashed into the carriage. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you casually said over your shoulder, feeling your friend’s gaze on you.

“Something tells me you’re hiding something from me!” she whined as she took a seat next to you. She took a look at your face and pointed an accusing finger at you. “You’re blushing! There’s definitely something going on between the two of you!”

You covered your warm cheeks with your hands, flustered by both her words and the memory of Woozi’s smile. “I-I-I was just thrown off by his sudden smile, that’s all!” you explained, the smug smile on Dahyun’s face told you that your attempt to clarify your reaction was pointless.

“Of course you were! You know, I wouldn’t mind if you two became a thing. He seems like a nice guy, so you have my approval!” your best friend teased, wiggling her eyebrows playfully as she spoke.

You rolled your eyes. “I already told you that nothing happened between us! I already have enough on my plate as it is. I don’t have time to worry about boys.”

“Sure, sure,” Dahyun said, clicking her tongue before she added, “my instincts when it comes to stuff like this have always been accurate.”

You gave her a side glance. “What? Have you been texting Soonyoung-oppa so much that his tiger senses have been passed on to you?” you joked, trying to change the topic.

“Fine, fine! Don’t tell me! I’ll figure it out on my own!” she said impatiently. “The day you two admit to your feelings and get together will be the day I’ll say, ‘told you so!’.”

You could not help but coo at the sight of your best friend’s little tantrum. With her arms crossed and her pouty lips, she looked just like a child who was just told by her mother that she would not buy her a new toy. “Aw, is little Dahyun upset?” you giggled, pinching her cheeks playfully.

She swatted your hand away and glared at you. “Don’t talk to me. I’m mad at you right now. I thought I was your best friend and that you would tell me everything,” she scowled.

You rolled your eyes once again at her behaviour and copied her posture, staring straight ahead of you. “I changed my mind,” you announced, and she quickly turned her head to look at you, expecting you to tell her what she wanted to know. Instead, you clarified, “I’m still furious about that stunt you pulled earlier. I guess we can both be mad at each other then.”

Silence fell upon the two of you as you continued to ignore each other. You held your breath and tried to maintain the impassive expression on your face. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see your best friend fidgeting with her fingers as she, too, tried to keep up with the emotionless act.

The subway announcement called out the next station — the stop you were getting off at. Dahyun was first the crack, huffing defeatedly. “[Y/N], I’m sorry for being so pushy today.”

“I genuinely enjoyed myself — for the first time in a very long time — so I’m really grateful for what you’ve done,” you told her. You wrapped your arm around her shoulders affectionately and gave her a side hug before standing up from your seat as the train slowly came to a stop.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

You let out a huge breath of relief when you walked onto the set of the music video the next morning. You could tell that Jihyo was in a good mood, for she did not even bat an eye when you entered the room, her focus entirely on her phone as her makeup artist, Jeongyeon, was making the final touches on her hair.

Soundlessly, you made your way across the room and took a seat next to Chaeyoung, the styling assistant. “Hey,” you greeted in a hushed tone.

“Haven’t seen you in a while,” she said as she grinned at you. The two of you actually met back in middle school through Dahyun. Although the girl seemed very cool upon your first meeting, she was one of the most kind-hearted people you have ever met.

If Dahyun was your personal hype man who pushes you to do things out of your comfort zone without thinking about the consequences, then Chaeyoung would be your sensible and level-headed friend who always gave you the most unbiased and insightful advice before you would take action.

However, it was not as easy to meet with her as it is with Dahyun. While Dahyun was a freelance choreographer and dance instructor, Chaeyoung worked full-time under JYP; as a styling assistant, she often had to work with different makeup artists and idols in the company to learn about styling for different individuals.

“You were busy working with Suzy-sunbaenim on her drama in the past few weeks, right?” Chaeyoung nodded. “How did it go?”

She groaned as she leaned back in her chair, and you noticed she winced as she stretched out her legs in front of her. “It was tougher than I had ever imagined. I had to be on stand by the entire time and we had to rush in to fix her hair and makeup every time they cut the camera. But the worst part was having to work overtime almost every day, with little to no sleep...” she trailed off before taking a long, deep breath. Despite her words, you could see the sparkles of excitement in her eyes, as she continued, “but it was a really good experience overall, and I learned a lot of things that I didn’t even think about when I was working with idols!”

You gave her a gentle pat on her arm, and she smiled in appreciation for your little gesture of comfort and support. The audience and viewers may not be aware of all the hard work that the staff behind the scenes have to put into the final works, and as Jihyo’s uncredited backup singer, you definitely could relate to the struggles of that.

Jihyo’s three minions walked into the waiting room then, and they let out screams of joy when they spotted the idol. Immediately, they gathered around her, gushing over something. Jeongyeon, who was still in the middle of finishing up Jihyo’s hair, was rudely pushed out of the way.

Knowing that there was no point in trying to tell the girls off, Jeongyeon simply rolled her eyes before she walked away from the idol, taking a seat on the other side of Chaeyoung.

“They seem to be in a good mood. Did something happen?” you asked them.

The makeup artist motioned you and Chaeyoung to move closer, and then proceeded to whisper, “I’m not too sure either, but I heard that she’s now dating Kang Daniel.”

Your eyes widened in shock. “The former Wanna One member?” Jeongyeon nodded. Chaeyoung and yourself quickly exchanged eye contact, surprise on full display.

Turning your attention back to the girls in front of you, you heard them bombarding Jihyo with questions about the ‘juicy details’ on how they got together. You rolled your eyes before glancing around the room, trying to find her manager. “Where’s Jeonghan-ssi?” you asked Jeongyeon again, who only shrugged her shoulders that she has not seen him too. “Does he know about this?”

The door swung open at the same moment, revealing Jeonghan. “Speak of the devil,” the girl beside you said under her breath.

Jeonghan stormed into the room and stood behind the three girls, who were so engrossed in their conversation that they did not even notice his entrance. After another second or two, he cleared his throat loudly, impatience written all over his face.

“What is this about you and Kang Daniel dating?” he demanded.

Without turning around in her seat, Jihyo answered, “it’s exactly what you think it is.”

You watched as he pinched the bridge of his nose in distress. “Now is not a good time. You’re preparing for a comeback. If the media finds out about this, there will be more focus on your relationship than your comeback.”

Jihyo shrugged her manager off. “That’s fine with me. As long as they talk about me, it means that I have their attention, right?” Jeonghan tried to get a word in but was swiftly cut off by Jihyo. “Papa never gave me a dating ban, so I don’t see what the problem is.”

You felt a nudge on your side. “Is that true?” Chaeyoung asked in a whisper. Jeongyeon also looked at you with curiosity. You nodded once, confirming the information. It was no surprise that the CEO gave Jihyo a lot more freedom compared to the other artists in the company, considering the fact that she was his only child.

At the thought of the unfair treatment, you scoffed under your breath.

Jeonghan thinned his lips, fully aware that there was no point in arguing with Jihyo when she had already made up her mind. Instead, he let out a long sigh before straightening his back. “I understand,” he said calmly, “but please be careful so the paparazzi don’t get word of this.”

The idol made a vague ‘okay’ sign with her hand before going back to her phone, texting her new boyfriend eagerly. Jeonghan’s eyes scanned across the room. “All of you better keep your mouth shut as well,” he warned. Yourself, along with the makeup artists and Jihyo’s minions, bobbed your heads in understanding.

There was a knock on the door before one of the production director assistants poked his head through the partly opened door. “Everything is ready to go now, Jihyo-ssi.”

Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung speedily made their way to the idol, doing a final check-up on her makeup, hair and outfit to make sure that everything looked perfect. Jihyo’s minions also stood up and stretched animatedly. Jeonghan ushered Jihyo and her dancers out of the room, with the two stylists following close behind with their makeup cases in hand.

You were left behind in the room, unsure of what you were supposed to do. Jeonghan had only told you to come on set but had never specifically told you why you were needed.

A minute later, Jeonghan returned. You gulped nervously as he looked straight at you. “You, out.”

You wordlessly followed him to where all the other staff were standing behind the camera. “The CEO wants you to help out more behind the scenes,” Jeonghan explained impassively before walking away.

You looked around, lost. Everyone else seemed to be in position, ready for the camera to roll. You had no idea where you were supposed to be, who you were supposed to help, and what you were supposed to do.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

Out of nowhere, someone bumped into you, causing you to stumble forward. They quickly caught your arm before you could fall.

“Sorry!” she whisper-shouted. You looked back and was met with a tall girl with a huge camera in hand. You shook your head and told her it was alright. She let out a sigh of relief. “I’m new here, so everything is so fascinating to me,” she told you.

You couldn’t help but chuckle at her excitement. It has been too long since you started working in the company, so you nearly forgot how crazy everything in here would seem to an outsider. “I’m [Y/N],” you introduced yourself with a bow.

“I’m Tzuyu. It’s nice to meet you, [Y/N]-ssi,” she replied with an innocent, child-like grin that warmed your heart in an instant.

“Do you need help with anything?” you asked her shyly. She looked confused at your sudden question, so you explained to her that you were told to help out behind the scenes, though it was not specified what exactly were you supposed to do.

After being informed of your situation, she asked you to wait for a moment and rushed off somewhere, before returning a minute later with another camera in hand. “Could you help me film some footage of the behind the scenes, then?”

You nodded, and the two of you parted ways to film from different areas on set.

After giving quick directions on filming, music began to play and the cameras began to roll. Jihyo stood in the middle of the set, lip-syncing to the song as she made numerous charming and flirtatious expressions to the camera.

Although you worked closely with Jihyo and knew all about her true nature, you had to admit that she really embodied the charismatic presence of an idol. As you watched her perform in front of the camera, you could not help but feel a twinge of jealousy hit you, wishing that it could be you that was in her position.

But you knew it was impossible.

‘ _ Or is it? _ ’ a small voice asked in the back of your mind. Unconsciously, the memories of yesterday came to you. You thought about a certain producer and how keen he was on getting you to sing. And then you remembered his heart-warming smile of encouragement when he noticed your tenseness — a smile that calm your nerves, yet at the same time quicken your heartbeat uncontrollably.

It was a brand new feeling that you have never felt before. It was nothing like the nervousness you felt when you first entered the company as a trainee, nor was it like the anxiety you felt every time you had to be in the same room as Jihyo. Heck, even when you were in the presence of the CEO of the company, you never felt the same kind of uneasiness.

It was weird, you realised. Sure, you felt tense around Woozi; but it was not an unpleasant feeling. Rather, it felt like you wanted to make sure you left a good impression on him so he would look at you positively and favourably.

You were reminded of Dahyun’s words all of a sudden. ‘ _ There’s definitely something going on between the two of you!’ _ ’

You immediately shook your head in denial, shaking the thought out of your head as you felt a heat bloom on your cheeks. ‘ _ I most definitely do not have a crush on him!’ _ you convinced yourself. These were simply feelings of respect and admiration. ‘ _ Yes, respect and admiration, _ ’ you assured.

After all, Woozi — who belonged to a small, unknown company — has managed to make a name for himself in the harsh world of entertainment. Despite the fact that the public knew close to nothing about him, nor do they know how he looked, his music has topped charts and touched the hearts of many. Of course he was someone you respected and admired — for he had achieved the dream that you would never be able to reach.

“Cut!” the director’s loud voice yelled, bringing you out of your thoughts. You refocused on the camera that you were holding as you tried to push the lingering thoughts of Woozi away.

* * *

“I didn’t know so much time and work had to be put into a short three-minute music video,” Tzuyu said during the lunch break as the two of you sat in the staff cafeteria with Chaeyoung.

“This time is considered easy and quick since everything is done inside the studio. Some times, shootings have to be done outdoors or in multiple locations, and those might even take days,” the makeup assistant commented.

Tzuyu nodded with wide eyes, absorbing the new knowledge. “It’s so cool that you’re already so knowledgeable about the industry when we’re the same age!” she beamed.

Chaeyoung chuckled bashfully, unused to the attention and being told she was knowledgeable — especially when she was considered a newbie by many in the company. “I’ve only been here for a year, which is nothing compared to [Y/N]. She’s been a trainee for years!”

“You were a trainee?” Tzuyu gasped in surprise. You gave Chaeyoung a pointed look before nodding to Tzuyu’s question. “Then how come you’re working as a backup vocalist? Shouldn’t you debut in a group or as a soloist as well?”

You stiffened in your seat as your heart sank. “The company thinks I’m better suited for this position,” you lied with a shaky smile.

Tzuyu still seemed puzzled, but before she could say anything else, Chaeyoung put a finger over her lip to shush the girl and stealthily pointed towards the cafeteria entrance, where Jihyo and her minions were sauntering towards your table.

“I called you twenty times! Why didn’t you answer my call?” Jihyo asked when she was close enough.

You took your phone out of your pocket, and sure enough, there were twenty missed calls from the idol. You immediately jumped out of your seat as your upper body bent forward into an apologetic bow. “Sorry, my phone was on ‘do not disturb’ mode.”

Jihyo clicked her tongue in irritation. “Whatever. Go buy us some bubble tea. You know our usual order,” she demanded. Before leaving, however, she turned towards Tzuyu with a sickeningly sweet smile. She glanced at the company tag that the new girl was wearing. “Tzuyu, is it? Just a word of advice for the newbie: if I were you, I’d avoid hanging out with this one,” she said smugly as she motioned to you.

Without another word, she turned to walk away with her dancers following close behind her, laughing loudly and disrupting the quiet, peaceful atmosphere in the room.

“What did she mean?” Tzuyu asked, confusion clear on her face.

Chaeyoung pursed her lips. “Just ignore her,” she told the newcomer. “Why don’t you return to the studio once you’re done eating. We’re just going to quickly run some errands before coming back.”

Although reluctant, Tzuyu nodded nevertheless. Chaeyoung flashed her a reassuring smile before standing up with you, and the two of you made your way out of the company building to buy Jihyo’s drinks.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

“You’re in a good mood,” Seungcheol remarked offhandedly.

Woozi gave a nonchalant shrug. He has been feeling content after the recording session yesterday. Although the group only did it for fun, he had enjoyed himself a lot — though this was something he would never tell to Hoshi’s face.

At once, his thoughts drifted to you. Although you joined in on a whim (‘ _ or is ‘peer-pressured’ a more accurate way to describe what happened? _ ’ he thought to himself), he was, once away, blown away by how well you performed without much preparation or practice.

In fact, he would even say that you have outperformed his expectations for you.

And despite the nervousness that he saw when you were standing behind the microphone, your voice showed no signs of strain or tenseness.

A sudden flashback came to mind as Woozi remembered his experience on stage. It only happened once, but just the memory of performing in front of an audience made his blood run cold. He quickly pushed the memory aside as his destination came into view.

Entering the JYP Entertainment building, the two of them showed their visitor pass to the security guard and was welcomed warmly by one of the staff members. “Welcome, Woozi-ssi, Seungcheol-ssi!” the woman greeted cheerfully. The woman led them to the elevator lobby. “Jihyo-ssi is currently in the middle of filming, I believe. But I have already notified Jeonghan-ssi about your arrival, so he should be able to show you around,” she explained.

Seungcheol nodded in acknowledgement. “We’re only here to observe, so there’s no need to trouble him or Jihyo-ssi,” he added. Before coming here, the two of them had already decided it was best to avoid interacting with the idol or her manager.

The elevator door opened, and the three of them walked in. Right when the door was about to close, a high-pitched voice shouted ‘wait!’. The staff immediately pushed the open button, and Woozi saw you and another girl rushing towards them with several plastic bags in hand.

“Thank you!” your companion said as she bowed at the producer. Woozi saw your eyes widened in surprise before bowing to greet him and Seungcheol as well. He returned the greeting as the elevator door closed.

He wanted to talk to you, but held his tongue as there were two strangers and Seungcheol in the small space. Woozi was not sure if the girl that you are with was a friend or foe, and the company staff would probably report anything unusual to Jeonghan.

Only having been here twice, he knew that this company building was not a safe place to speak freely to you unless the two of you were alone.

It only took a few moments for the elevator to reach their floor. The two of you swiftly bolted out of the machine while Woozi and Seungcheol walked out slowly, led by the staff.

The song that Woozi produced was currently playing out loud in the large studio as several cameras moved around the set. He caught a glimpse of Jihyo and her dancers in the middle of the set, dancing along the track. He watched as the staff looked around before her eyes landed on Jeonghan, and she motioned the two to follow her.

She called out to the manager quietly so as not to disturb the filming. Jeonghan — who was typing furiously on his phone — turned to face the producer, and they greeted each other politely. Mission accomplished, the woman took her leave.

“Thank you for coming all the way here,” Jeonghan said with a tight smile. Woozi noticed the tenseness in the man’s shoulders and the tight grip he had on his mobile device as he spoke.

“Thank you for inviting us to come and monitor the process,” Seungcheol replied.

The phone in Jeonghan’s hand rang. After looking at the contact name on the screen, the manager’s body visibly stiffened even further before he excused himself from the two visitors. Woozi watched him hurry into one of the rooms and shouted something.

A second later, you rushed out and ran towards the two of them. “Hi,” you whispered as you stopped in front of them. “Jeonghan-ssi told me to show you around.”

Woozi could feel the sides of his lips lift ever so slightly. “Thank you,” he spoke for the first time since entering the studio, surprising his manager who usually did all the talking for him. You gestured the two of them to follow you, and the men trailed behind you as you led them to the corner of the room, where a large screen was located.

Placing two chairs in front of the monitor, you motioned them to sit down before pulling a third chair to sit next to them. “Is everything going well so far?” Seungcheol asked, pointing towards the set.

You nodded. “Everything has been going smoothly according to the plan. I overheard one of the staff saying that the single is scheduled to be released next month.”

“Jeonghan-ssi seems rather stressed though,” Woozi mentioned. He saw you grimaced and knew that something had happened. “Something wrong?”

“A small issue occurred, but I think he has it under control for now,” you answered, though your wavering tone betrayed your unsureness. The producer decided not to dig in deeper into whatever problems the manager has to deal with. As long as it does not negatively impact the song release, he does not care.

Seungcheol’s phone began to ring. “It’s Bumzu-hyung,” he said after looking at the screen and excused himself from the two of you.

“Is she making you run errands again?” Woozi asked, referring to the plastic bags that you were holding earlier.

You laughed it off awkwardly. “She’s gotta have her daily dose of bubble tea,” you joked, hoping that the producer would drop the topic. You didn’t expect him to breathe out a chuckle.

“Just like how I need my daily dose of cola,” he said wittily as he flashed you a smile — this time, a rather playful one. “Looks like I have much more in common with her than I thought.”

You took it as a sign that he was in a good mood, and decided to entertain him a little. “At least it’s not drugs that you’re addicted to,” you joked.

The producer laughed. “You’re right about that,” he said. After a slight pause, he added, “how about you? What is your addiction?”

You pondered for a moment, trying to remember what was something you could not live without. “Music…?” you trailed off unsurely.

Woozi rolled his eyes at your answer. “Anything other than that?” he asked again. “We’ve met with each other multiple times, but I know close to nothing about you, you know?”

His words surprised you. You were not expecting him to show any interest in you outside of work and music, much less wanting to get to know more about you as an individual. “I’m not that interesting of a person…” you mumbled as you broke eye contact with him.

This time, it was Woozi who was puzzled by your response. You were far more interesting than you gave yourself credit for. He realised that not only were you doubtful about your talents, but you were also insecure about yourself in general.

It saddened him, knowing that you thought so little about yourself.


	18. Chapter Seventeen

Woozi gave you a smile that almost seemed… sad. “That’s not true,” he whispered, “you are special.”

“You don’t have to lie to make me feel better about myself,” you said as you diverted your gaze away from him.

The producer shook his head. “I’m not,” he insisted. “You have caught my attention from the moment I heard you sing. I just know there’s something special about you.”

You stayed silent. The playful mood between the two of you was gone in moments because of you. Despite wanting to impress the producer and leave a good impression on him, you have shown him nothing but your insecure and unpleasant sides during the handful of times you have met. The realisation made your heart sink.

Seeing your lack of reaction, Woozi continued. “I know what I’m saying might just come off as empty words, but I genuinely think you’re an interesting person and want to get to know you better as an individual. I understand that there’s a reason why you can’t debut as a singer, and I respect your decision of not wanting to tell me — we don’t have that kind of close relationship between us. But even if we can’t work on music together formally, I still want to collaborate with you in an informal setting. Similar to what you’ve seen Hoshi and I do yesterday — just friends having fun together.”

His words caught you off guard. You suddenly noticed how the producer just seemed to surprise you with something new every single time the two of you meet. You were thrilled to hear that Woozi still wanted to work with you even after seeing you in some of your most humiliating moments. You were grateful to hear that he respects your decision and private matters and that he would not force you to tell him everything. But more than anything, you were delighted to hear that the producer wanted to know you better as individuals — to become friends.

“I’ll be in your care, then,” you told him shyly, a small smile hanging on your lips.

Woozi’s face lit up. “Same here,” he said brightly before he leaned in closer to whisper in a low voice, “please don’t tell Hoshi I called him my friend. That guy will annoy the hell out of me if he finds out.”

You chuckled and gave him a thumbs up. “Your secret is safe with me,” you said. Woozi flashed you a sheepish smile as he thanked you.

The atmosphere returned to a light-hearted state once again, and you could feel the heavy tension leave your body as you and Woozi watched Jihyo and her dancers on the screen in front of you.

Seungcheol came back a few minutes later. “What did Bumzu-hyung say?” Woozi asked his manager when he finally settled back down in his seat. You also turned your head to look at Seungcheol curiously.

“He just wanted an update on what’s happening here,” Seungcheol answered. The producer nodded in understanding. The two of you met eyes and — almost instinctively — smiled at each other before reverting your attention to the screen. Seungcheol quirked an eyebrow at the exchange between the two of you but said nothing.

The director of the music video shouted for the staff to change the backdrop. You watched Jeonghan hurry to Jihyo’s side and whispered something in her ear, to which the idol reacted with a roll of her eyes. She walked away from the set, back to the dressing room. Jeonghan started heading towards your direction, and you quickly stood up from your seat.

“I can take it from here,” he told you. You nodded once and took your leave after bowing to Woozi and Seungchel.

As you jogged away from them, you stole a glance over your shoulder to see Woozi still looking at you. His gaze met yours and he nodded at you once more before reverting his eyes to Jeonghan, who was speaking to Seungcheol.

You bit your lip to stop the smile from spreading on your lips. You felt strangely happy about being friends with Woozi. This was one of the rare good things that happened to you recently. ‘ _ I need to thank Hoshi-oppa the next time I see him, _ ’ you thought to yourself, remembering how he encouraged you to contact the producer when you were feeling lost.

You were so absorbed in your thoughts and this newfound happiness that you bumped into someone for the second time today.

“Sorry!” you immediately apologised. You looked up and realised it was Tzuyu who you ran into.

“Why do we keep bumping into each other?” Tzuyu asked with a laugh. You laughed as well before apologizing again. She waved it off with a kind smile. “Who were you talking to, by the way?” she asked.

“Oh! That’s Woozi, the producer who produced this comeback song!” you explained.

“So that’s the Woozi that Dahyun has been telling me all about!” another voice joined in. You turned around to see Chaeyoung smirking knowingly at you.

Tzuyu looked between the two of you. “Dahyun?”

“She’s a friend of ours,” Chaeyoung clarified.

“And what has she been telling you about Woozi?” Tzuyu asked again, unusually intrigued about this newly introduced person.

Before Chaeyoung could say another word, you cut her off. “It’s nothing, really,” you said. You ushered the two girls in the direction of Jihyo’s dressing room. “Let’s get back to work now.”

Tzuyu and Chaeyoung nodded, remembering their duties and getting back to work mode. You took a deep breath to calm your rapid heartbeat before stepping into the dressing room.

Jihyo was once again engrossed on her phone as Jeongyeon fixed her hair and makeup. She giggled to herself, which instantly captured the attention of Sana, Mina and Momo as they crowded around her, curious to know what her boyfriend had said.

You stealthily made your way across the room and sat down, just as you felt a vibration in your back pocket. You took your phone out and saw a message from Woozi.

‘Seungcheol-hyung and I are heading back to the studio now. Thank you for today. Woozi Universe Factory welcomes you to come and hang out any time! :)’

Your lips curled upwards unconsciously. You typed a quick reply before switching your phone back to ‘do not disturb’ mode to focus on your work. Gripping a camera in hand, you began to film the idol as she was called to return to the set for the next scene.


	19. Chapter Eighteen

Your phone on the table vibrated. You averted your attention away from the conversation between your friends as you silently checked the notification on the screen, and smiled when you read the message.

“Who’s that?” Dahyun, who sat opposite of you, asked.

“Nobody,” you said, quickly locking your phone and placing it in your bag so none of your friends could grab it from you.

“‘Nobody’, huh?” Dahyun teased, a glint of mischief in her eyes.

You watched her make eye contact with Chaeyoung, who sat beside you. “It’s Woozi, isn’t it?” Chaeyoung asked, a playful smirk on her face as she wiggled her eyebrows at you.

You tried to deny their guess, but they immediately saw through you with that split second of hesitation. “Spill the tea, girl!” Dahyun urged, excitement clear on her face. Chaeyoung also looked at you expectantly.

“Nothing’s going on between us, I promise! We’re just friends!” you said.

“Who’s friends with who?” another voice butted in. The three of you whipped your head around towards the owner of the voice. Hoshi stared at you with a wide grin. “Sorry I’m late!” he added as he sat down beside Dahyun.

The three of you laughed simultaneously. “It’s okay, oppa, this meal is on you!” Dahyun told the latecomer, while yourself and Chaeyoung cheered playfully.

The choreographer gave Dahyun a dirty look. “Hey! That’s not fair!” he complained.

“You’re the eldest at the table. Shouldn’t you buy meals for your most beloved juniors?” Chaeyoung joined in on Dahyun’s little ploy.

You watched in amusement as your three best friends exchanged witty remarks. It has been too long since the four of you hung out together. You did not realise how much you missed spending time with them until now. It reminded you of when you were still a trainee back in high school, when things were less complicated, and when times were much simpler.

Hoshi eventually gave in after realising that there was no point in trying to argue with Dahyun and Chaeyoung. “Fine, fine! I’ll pay, so order whatever you want!” he said with annoyance, though the tender smile that hung on his lips revealed his true feelings.

At his words, the table swiftly ordered.

“So, who’s [Y/N]’s new friend?” Hoshi asked once the waiter took your orders. You glared at him for bringing up the topic once again. You thought he would have forgotten about it after the chaotic conversation about why he should pay. “What? Why are you glaring at me?” he asked, a small pout of his face as he looked at you with feigned innocence.

“She was smiling like a fool after receiving a message from Woozi!” the makeup assistant next to you exposed. Hoshi’s expression instantly perked up at the mention of the producer.

You slapped your friend on the shoulder. “I was not!” you tried to defend yourself.

“Yes you were, [Y/N]!” Dahyun said with a pointed look.

Hoshi burst out laughing, startling everyone at the table. You watched in annoyance as his laughter went on for a while. Dahyun and Chaeyoung, on the other hand, looked at him with concern — as if they thought he had finally lost his mind.

“What’s so funny?” Dahyun questioned.

Finally, he calmed down and downed his glass of water in one go. His face was flushed red from laughing. “Sorry, sorry. I was so surprised that I didn’t know how to react, so my first initial response was to start laughing.” Hoshi looked at you with a raised eyebrow, and said, “So are you and Jihoon a thing now?”

You rolled your eyes. “As I said, we’re just friends and nothing more.”

“I’ve known him for years and he had never once called me his ‘friend’!” Hoshi complained as he crossed his arms across his chest childishly. You remembered Woozi’s words and tried to hide the smile on your face. ‘ _ If only he knew, _ ’ you thought to yourself.

“I mean, I don’t blame him,” you poked fun at the man in front of you. He narrowed his eyes at you and flipped you off, and you responded by sticking your tongue out at him.

“But she totally likes him!” Dahyun teased cheekily.

“I do not!”

“She totally does!” Chaeyoung chimed in.

You threw your hands up in frustration. “Will you guys please stop this? What even makes you think that I like him romantically?”

“Because you smiled when you read his messages,” Chaeyoung started.

“Don’t forget that time when you blushed after he smiled at you,” Dahyun added.

“And you two hung out alone at his studio,” Hoshi continued.

“Also, you were acting all shy around him when you two were talking.”

“Not to mention, you said he was ‘cute’ when I asked you last time.”

“And let’s be real: you’ve never shown so much interest in someone of the opposite gender until now.”

“Okay, okay! I get it!” you finally said, stopping them from trying to further prove their point. “But I really don’t like him that way! I just really respect him because he made a name for himself as a producer in this industry despite being from a relatively unknown company, and I genuinely admire his passion for his work and music in general. I’m just thankful that he thinks I’m talented enough that he went through all the trouble to write a song for me. More than anything, he sees me as who I am, instead of being ‘just Jihyo’s backup singer’.”

You watched your friends exchanging knowing glances with one another before nodding. Hoshi, Dahyun and Chaeyoung reached for your hand and held it closely in theirs.

“Okay, we understand now,” Chaeyoung said softly. “Sorry for teasing you about it.”

“We just want you to be happy,” Dahyun further stated, a look of warmth in her eyes.

“We love you, [Y/N],” Hoshi finished with an expression of tenderness.

You froze in your seat as you let out an awkward chuckle. “Jeez, what’s wrong with you three?”

Fortunately, the waiter arrived with your food at this exact moment, forcing the group to let go of your hand. You turned your head away from them as you tried to blink away the tears that were forming in your eyes. You were not sure why you were suddenly so emotional from hearing their simple words; but, at this moment, despite their teasing, you were grateful to have these three in your life.

Hoshi grabbed his drink and motioned the three of you to follow him.

“Although there are still a few days left before the real thing, here’s to [Y/N]’s debut at music shows! May you have a smooth and successful promotion period! Cheers!”


	20. Chapter Nineteen

As the car neared the broadcasting station for today’s recording, you could see crowds of excited fans waiting by the car park for their beloved idols to arrive.

“Jihyo will get off at the front entrance where the press and fans could see her. Jeonghan will accompany her,” Jeongyeon, who sat in the front passenger seat next to the driver, explained to you. “The rest of us will get off at the back entrance and get everything ready in the waiting room before she arrives.”

Sat beside you, Chaeyoung placed her hand on yours and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “How are you feeling?” she asked. You could only give her a tight-lipped smile in response. “You’ll be fine, [Y/N].”

You nodded. Looking out of the window, you watched the car in front of you slowing down, and the fans began to pick up their cameras. A few moments later, Jihyo stepped out of the car and waved enthusiastically, a charming smile on her face. The crowd immediately went wild as they started screaming and chanting her name.

The car began moving again, and you watched the back of Jihyo slowly fading out of sight.

Once the car arrived at the back entrance of the building, it came to a stop. Sana, Mina and Momo stepped out of the car in front of you and made their way into the building, chattering as they did so.

“Let’s go,” Jeongyeon said as she stepped out of the car as well, grabbing the luggage from the trunk of the car. Chaeyoung flashed you another smile and followed the makeup artist to help her.

You took a deep breath and got out of the car. You waited by the door, unsure of where you were supposed to go. Unlike Jihyo’s dancers or her staff, this was the first time you have ever set foot in the broadcast station. You looked around you nervously, watching the station employees and other idol staff rush around you.

“[Y/N]!” a voice called out within the busy staff members. Your eyes searched the crowd swiftly before landing on a tall figure, who was waving at you excitedly. “Thank God I found you!” Tzuyu said, a look of relief on her face. “Jihyo’s dancers just left me in the car without telling me where to go!”

You nodded stiffly. That explained why Tzuyu was not in the same car as you. She probably had to film for Jihyo’s behind the scenes video. “Are you alright? You look quite pale,” Tzuyu asked worriedly.

“Actually, it’s my first time here, so I’m kind of nervous…” you mumbled.

“Really? Even though you’ve been working as Jihyo’s backup singer since her debut last year?”

“They’ve only recently changed the company policy about that,” you told her. Tzuyu seemed like she still had more questions, but as you finished speaking, Chaeyoung and Jeongyeon walked towards you. “We better hurry up now,” Jeongyeon said as she rushed past you two, tugging two large suitcases behind her.

The four of you hurried through the busy corridors. A staff member who recognised Jeongyeon called her over, motioning the waiting room at the end of the long passage.

Fortunately, Jihyo has not arrived yet.

Jihyo’s dancers have already made themselves at home, lounging on the couch as they continued to talk between themselves. The stylists quickly set up the working table, lining up all the clothes and makeup for today’s stage. At the same time, Tzuyu set up several cameras across the room skillfully.

You, on the other hand, simply stood in the corner of the room as you watched them, feeling more out of place than before you walked into the building.

Of course, you have heard about what happens at broadcasting stations from other staff, artists and trainees in the company. However, no one has ever briefed you on what you were supposed to do here today. You suspected that Jeonghan was in charge of giving you that information — and since he hated your guts, it was no surprise that he has told you nothing about it.

You could only hope that he would tell you something before the live recording.

The door opened and Jihyo skipped into the room, led by a staff member and with Jeonghan following behind her. She sat down in front of the mirror, and the makeup artists immediately started to work on her.

From your observation, you could tell that Jihyo was in a good mood today. Was it because it has been a while since she had last performed on stage, or was it because there were many eyes on her today? Either way, you were glad that it seemed that trouble would not be in your way today.

That was one less thing you had to worry about.

* * *

There was a knock on the door. A staff member stepped in. “Jihyo-ssi will be up for rehearsal in thirty minutes!”

“Thank you!” Jihyo said as she stood up from the couch, bowing deeply to the messenger. “Girls, let’s start warming up now!” she announced, her dancers immediately rising from their seats and getting into positions.

Jihyo gave you a side glance but said nothing. Instead, she ignored you as if you did not exist, and merely started to practice in front of the mirror.

Jeonghan gestured you over to where he was sitting, and you wordlessly made your way across the room. As you walked past Momo, she stuck her foot out, almost causing you to trip and fall if you did not catch yourself using the edge of the table. “Oops, sorry!” she smirked.

“Be careful, [Y/N]! We don’t need Jihyo’s important backup singer injured right now!” Sana added with a sneer.

“It would be a shame if you couldn’t perform together with us!” Mina also said mockingly.

“Mina, you silly girl! She’s only going to be singing behind the stage,” Momo snickered.

“Oh right! We won’t be performing together!” Mina taunted, heavily emphasising on the word ‘together’.

“Poor [Y/N] won’t ever get to perform on stage with us!” Sana laughed, the two girls joining in.

You made the mistake of stealing a glance at Jihyo. She was glaring at you, a smug smile on her face as she watched her minions hurl one insult after another at you. Now it made sense why she disregarded your presence. She left her dirty work to her minions, who had no difficulties following her orders.

Jeonghan hushed the girls up and motioned you to hurry up. You pushed yourself up and wobbled towards the manager on your shaky legs.

“I’m only going to tell you this once, so listen carefully: when it’s Jihyo turn to perform, the staff backstage will ask who the backup singer is. Once they give you the microphone, do not, and I mean DO NOT, use the microphone unless the music is playing. I will be monitoring the situation from backstage as well, so if I hear one word from you in the monitoring speaker, I will have you removed from the performance. You understand?”

You gulped and gave a tense nod. Jeonghan’s warning was clear — one wrong move and you would be sent home.

You could not let this chance go away. You had to be on your best behaviour. This was the closet chance you would ever get to perform on a music show. It did not matter if you were in the spotlight or not — any opportunity you get to perform to an audience, you would have to give it your all.


	21. Chapter Twenty

A staff member stepped in after knocking on the door. “The stage is ready for Jihyo-ssi’s rehearsal!”

Jeonghan nodded as he stood up from his chair. “Let’s go,” he said to the idol.

Even though it was only rehearsal, Jeongyeon checked Jihyo’s hair, makeup and clothes one last time, making sure that everything was perfectly in place. Meanwhile, Jeonghan instructed Tzuyu to bring a camera along to film the rehearsal process from backstage.

The staff member and the manager led the way out of the waiting room towards the stage. Jihyo was surrounded by her dancers as she walked, giving each other words of encouragement as Tzuyu recorded them.

Before you stepped out of the room, Chaeyoung sent you a smile as she mouthed, ‘good luck’.

On the way to the stage, the group walked past several other groups and artists, all of which bowed politely at the sight of Jihyo. Jihyo, on the other hand, waved with a charming smile as she called out their names in that sweet voice of hers.

Despite her informal greeting, everyone seemed awestruck as they stared at the idol in front of you. They did not mind that she did not greet them properly; rather, they were thrilled that she treated them so casually, like they were friends who have known each other for years.

She was indisputably charming — you knew that since the very first time you met her. But this was the first time you got to see it happening up-close in person. You were one of the few people who knew that this was all an act, but the way she carried herself here seemed so natural and genuine that your body unconsciously moved closer to her, wanting to feel like you were part of her team as well.

That was a big mistake.

Without even realising, you stepped on the back of Momo’s shoe, causing the girl to stumble.

You immediately froze. The group stopped walking. Momo whipped around as she glared at you angrily. You gulped in fear.

“How dare y—”

“Oh, my! Are you alright, Momo?” Jihyo swiftly intervened, a look of concern on her face.

“She stepped on me!” the dancer complained. She turned to look at the idol and stiffened visibly when she made eye contact with Jihyo.

“I’m sure she didn’t mean it,” Jihyo said through gritted teeth, her attention now on you. “It’s her first time performing, after all. Am I right, [Y/N]?” Even though she had a sweet smile on her lips, her eyes held nothing but rage. Unable to swallow the lump in your throat, you simply nodded as you cast your gaze downwards timidly.

The group finally continued to move. You could hear the people around you whisper between each other about what just happened.

“I remember my first day! That must’ve been terrifying for the new girl!”

“For a second, I thought her dancer was going to jump on her!”

“She’s lucky that Jihyo-ssi was so kind and understanding!”

“Must be nice to work with Jihyo-ssi! She’s one of the most popular idols right now!”

“I’m so jealous of her!”

The more you heard, the more you felt your chest tightening — to the point where it was difficult for you to breathe. You wanted to scream, to tell everyone the truth about Jihyo, to escape from here and hide in the comfort of your bed.

But remembering that you were about to get that chance of performing on television for the first time in your entire life — something you had been longing to do since you could remember — you simply kept your head low, avoiding eye contact with all of those around you, as you followed Jihyo’s group silently.

“The next performer rehearsing is Jihyo!” you heard one of the staff say into the microphone. At the mention of her name, the fans waiting in the audience began to scream in excitement.

“This way please, Jihyo-ssi,” the staff who was leading the group said. Jihyo and her dancers followed their lead, and you were about to do the same when Jeonghan stopped you.

“You’re going that way,” he told you sternly as he pointed towards the opposite direction of where Jihyo was going. “I’ll be right back. Don’t cause any trouble.” And with that, he jogged to join Jihyo.

Jeonghan’s instruction had been so vague that you had no clear idea as to what you were supposed to do. All you knew was to find the staff member who was in charge of microphones. You looked around cluelessly. You tried to ask the staff around you, but they merely brushed past you as they rushed to their positions.

Suddenly, from the speakers, someone asked, “Where is Jihyo’s backup singer?”

Your ears perked up in alert. “I’m here!” you called out, raising your arm in the air in hopes that the staff member would spot you in the crowded studio. You heard them repeat the question, and you called out once more as you frantically waved your arms.

From the corner of your eye, you spotted a tall guy running towards you. “Are you Jihyo-ssi’s backup singer?” he asked breathlessly once he was in front of you. You nodded. “Great! This way!”

He led you into the backstage area, where all the microphones and complicated-looking machines were. “She’s here,” the guy said to who you assumed was his supervisor. The man only gave you a side glance before handing you a microphone. “Jun, bring her to where she’s supposed to be,” the man instructed.

The tall guy next to you — who you now know as Jun — nodded before giving you a small smile, and led you away. “Thank you, Jun-ssi,” you said to him quietly as the two of you moved through the busy backstage area.

“Don’t worry about it,” he replied. “It’s your first time here, isn’t it?”

“How did you know?” you asked in surprise.

He gave you a wink. “I’m just smart like that, I guess,” he said with a self-satisfied grin. You looked at him weirdly, unsure of how to react to his statement. “Just kidding!” he laughed, “you looked really lost just now, so it doesn’t take a genius to figure that out.”

You frowned upon hearing his comment. “Do I really look like I don’t belong here?”

Jun shot you a worried look. “That’s not what I mean. I’m sorry if it came out the wrong way.” You shook your head in understanding as your grip on the microphone tightened. “Everyone’s nervous when they come here. Rookie or not, it’s always nerve-wracking to perform on television.”

Finally reaching your designated spot, you saw Jeonghan already waiting for you with his arms crossed impatiently. The location was just beside the stage, where there was a clear view of what was happening on stage without being captured by the various television production cameras.

“I’ll be working nearby, so just call me over if you need any help,” Jun said. You thanked him once again with a deep bow. “Good luck, [Y/N]-ssi!” he cheered brightly before walking away.

“Okay! Is everyone ready? Jihyo’s rehearsal begins now!” the producer announced into the microphone.

You watched as Jihyo bowed to the audience. “Hello everyone, I’m Park Jihyo! Please take good care of me!” she said sweetly, the crowd going wild from just the simple greeting.


	22. Chapter Twenty-One

Woozi knew something was wrong as he watched the recording that Seungcheol gave him. At first, he thought that a technical issue had occurred, or maybe he had misheard the audio. But after rewatching the clip multiple times, he knew what the problem was.

“Did they completely turn off the microphone for the backup vocals?” he asked his manager, who was monitoring the video with him.

Seungcheol looked confused. “What do you mean?” he asked.

The producer clicked a few buttons to change the settings of the video, removing the instrumental track. Playing the video once again, the sound of Jihyo’s singing flowed through the speakers — or at least, what should have been her voice. Instead, it sounded more like she was panting into the microphone as she lip-synced to the song, only several inaudible words were sung breathlessly.

“It’s pretty common for them to lip-sync on their first main comeback stage, especially when they want the entire dance performance to be perfect,” Seungcheol explained, still not fully understanding Woozi’s concern.

“That’s not what I mean,” Woozi said. He once again removed the audio track of Jihyo’s part before playing the video. No sound came out. “Isn’t [Y/N] supposed to be backing up live?” Seungcheol’s eyes finally widened in realisation. “If you watch the original clip, you could hear the backup vocals. But it didn’t sound like it was sung live. So after removing the instrumental track, it was made clear that the backup vocals in the video was from the original instrumental track and not performed live.”

The manager nodded in understanding. “But Jihoon, you know that’s not really our concern, right? The song’s doing great on charts, your older songs are also getting more attention now, and you’re receiving more recognition as a producer. If anything, it’s a win-win situation for both you and Jihyo!”

Woozi sighed. He knew his manager was right. His job as the producer for Jihyo’s comeback was completed. He got the results he wanted. He was paid well by the company for his work.

So why was it that he felt so dissatisfied and disappointed as he watched the recording of Jihyo’s performance?

Removing his cap, he ran his hand through his hair in frustration multiple times. “Let’s call it a day,” he said to Seungcheol.

The manager nodded as he stood up from his chair. “Please go home tonight and take a good rest,” he reminded the producer, “we have an important meeting tomorrow morning.” And with that, he left the studio, knowing that when Woozi was stressed, it was better to leave him alone to deal with his emotions instead of pushing him to talk.

When the right time comes, Woozi would always confide his thoughts to him.

When the door closed behind Seungcheol, Woozi wasted no time to pull his phone out, sending a quick text to the girl who has been occupying his mind.

Fortunately, it only took a few minutes for a reply to arrive.

Woozi dialled the number and bit his nails as he anxiously waited for you to pick up the phone.

“Hello?” Just from that one word, he could tell you were exhausted, your voice strained.

“Hey. I hope I didn’t wake you up.”

He heard you breathe a soft chuckle. “Don’t worry, you didn’t. I was, however, in the middle of practising.” Woozi quickly apologised for interrupting. “Just kidding! I was just about done anyway.”

Woozi felt himself let out a breath of relief at your little joke. Despite sounding tired, he was relieved that you were still playful and made a light-hearted comment.

“Good work today,” he told you.

“Oh, have you seen the performance already?”

“I have. You did a good job.”

You laughed — though it sounded like it was a hollow laugh. “I’m pretty sure they turned the volume of my microphone off.”

Woozi sucked in a breath. ‘ _ So she knows, huh? _ ’ he thought to himself, an instant feeling of guilt washed over him. He simply wanted to comfort you and cheer you up; instead, he made you feel bad about what happened.

“Sorry,” Woozi mumbled. The line fell quiet on the other side, and he worried that his little white lie had only hurt you more. “Are you… okay?” he asked, the question coming out way more awkward than he had imagined in his head.

“Yeah,” you simply responded.

Woozi wished there was more he could do for you in this situation. He was not Hoshi, who he knew could crack a few jokes and act like a fool and instantly cheer you up. He was not Dahyun, who you could easily open your heart and pour out your true feelings to. He was not someone of high status like Jihyo, who with a snap of a finger could have everything go in her way; nor was he someone as mature as Seungcheol, who knew how to calmly analyse and deal with any problem that was thrown in his way.

He was just Lee Jihoon.

There was nothing he could do to help you. He was simply too powerless, too incapable, too impotent.

To be able to lend you a hand in achieving your dreams, he realised he had to do more. He had to work harder. He had to push his limits even further. He wanted to become someone you could rely on, someone you could open your heart to, someone you could have faith in.

“Woozi-ssi,” you said on the other side of the phone, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“Hm?”

“Give me one of those long, inspirational speeches that you always give.”

Woozi was confused. “What do you mean?”

You giggled. “You know, those little rants that you always go on whenever you want to convince me to do something? I could use one of those right now,” you explained, before adding in a vulnerable whisper, “please?”

Your soft and firm plea knocked the air out of Woozi’s lungs. Out of surprise, he nearly choked, but quickly composed himself.

“O-okay.” Clearing his throat once, he took a deep breath. “[Y/N]-ssi, you’re probably well aware of this since I’ve told you this multiple times, but your voice really is one of a kind. Today’s performance might not have gone the way you thought it would — and I’ll be honest, I’m very disappointed with whoever decided to mute your microphone as well — I believe you have done perfectly at your first live performance as a backup singer. One day, you would be able to stand on the stage and share your talents with the world.”

“Thank you,” you said earnestly. “I better head home now. Jihyo has several schedules tomorrow that I need to attend as well.”

The two of you bid farewell on the phone, with the producer wishing you all the best for the upcoming performances. As Woozi listened to the beeping sound after you hung up, he could not help but feel a little bit guilty about the selfish wish he had in mind — one that he was not brave enough to tell you.

‘ _ And I hope that when you finally get to perform under that well-deserved spotlight, you would be singing the songs that I produced for you. _ ’


	23. Chapter Twenty-Two

“The CEO is ready to see you now,” the personal assistant said. Woozi and Seungcheol stiffly stood up from their seats. Following the staff, she knocked twice on the big, wooden door.

“Come in,” a voice called behind the door. Opening the door, a luxuriously designed looking room came into view. The first thing Woozi noticed was that the size of the room was nearly triple as large as the room of the president of his company. The sunlight lit up the room through the large floor-to-ceiling windows, with a clear view of Seoul City and the busy neighbourhood in which the company building was located.

Just one look at the colour coordination from the ceiling to the walls and floor, from the furniture to all the decorations in the room, and Woozi could tell that every little design detail of the room has been well planned and thought out.

In the middle of the expensive-looking room was Park Jinyoung, who stood up from his seat behind the table and welcomed his guest with an award-winning smile. “Woozi-ssi, Seungcheol-ssi, thank you for coming in today!” the president of the company greeted.

“Thank you for having us,” Seungcheol — who was able to push his nerves aside as he put on his serious face for business — quickly replied.

Woozi simply nodded — a reaction that Seungcheol clearly thought was insufficient — as he gave the producer a subtle nudge of reminder on the elbow. Woozi resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He hated having to attend business meetings, and he always tried to avoid going to one unless his presence was absolutely needed. He would much rather spend his time working on new music in the studio, as his interest lies in the creative aspect of this career and not the business side of things.

His manager normally let him do whatever he wanted. However, today was different. Woozi knew he had no choice but to at least pretend like he was interested — when really, he would rather be anywhere else but here.

“Thank you for your invitation,” Woozi finally said after a moment of awkward silence. The three of them sat down at the seating area in the room, and Park Jinyoung motioned for his assistant to leave the room.

“I see the song is doing very well on charts,” the CEO of JYP Entertainment said, jumping into business immediately. Knowing that the well-respected man in front of him was not one to make meaningless small talks about the weather that would waste precious time, Woozi felt a little bit better. “You are a really talented producer, Woozi-ssi!”

“This is all thanks to Jihyo-ssi’s wonderful performance,” Woozi replied.

Park Jinyoung let out a laugh at the producer’s comment. “I’m sure she would be very glad to hear that,” he said with a proud grin. “She told me she wasn’t sure if you were happy with her performance or not.”

Woozi could feel his manager freeze up in his seat beside him. “I would like to apologise on behalf of Woozi if Jihyo-ssi was offende—”

The man in front of them raised a hand to cut Seungcheol off. “Oh! Don’t worry about that!” he laughed again, this time rather amused. “I was quite worried at first when we decided to let Jihyo try and collaborate with other producers since I have always been in charge of writing and producing her songs since her debut. But we figured that we will eventually have to let her work with other people, so I’m glad that we decided on you.”

In the back of his mind, Woozi knew that the reason why one of the big three companies decided to let their most popular artists work with him was that he was only a minor producer from a small company. If things had not gone well as it did, it would have been easy to just blame the failure on him.

“So, how was it? Did you enjoy working with Jihyo?” Park Jinyoung asked.

Woozi was not sure if this was a trick question or not. But even though he may not be good with business meetings like this, one thing he knew for certain was that he had to pick his next words very carefully when he was answering the man in front of him. In fact, he could even feel his manager steal a few glances at him, worried about what he would say.

“Jihyo-ssi was really pleasant to work with,” Woozi lied with a forced smile on his lips. He could tell that Park Jinyoung wanted him to say more, to elaborate on the statement, but Woozi had nothing else to say. The two of them stared at each other awkwardly, waiting for the other person to say something.

Finally, after another moment or two, the CEO came to accept the fact that the producer had nothing to add. “Wonderful! I’m so glad you said that,” he responded. “I’ll go straight to the point about why I asked to meet you today, then. We were wondering if you would like to sign an exclusive producing contract with our company?”

At the mention of a new contract, Woozi’s attention was hooked at once. Seungcheol, on the other hand, entered alert mode. “What do you mean?” he asked Park Jinyoung.

“We’re not talking about you having to leave your current company or anything, but rather, a contract that will make you one of the producers that our company will frequently work with.” the businessman explained as he took out the printed contract and its details on the table between them.

“What benefits does this contract include?” Seungcheol asked again.

“There are things like access to the company building, recording studios and equipment, and getting paid better for the songs that you produce for us. But I think the most appealing benefit for Woozi-ssi would be the opportunity to work with the artists under our company. As you may or may not know, artists in our label have to get permission to work with people outside of the company. However, if you become one of the exclusive producers of JYP, you are welcomed to work with any of our artists anytime.”

As he listened to the CEO explain the details about the contract, an idea suddenly popped up in Woozi’s mind. “I can work with anyone in the company?”

From the corner of his eye, he could see his manager look slightly surprised. It was not like him to be so interested in an offer like this, so Woozi completely understood why Seungcheol was confused when the question was asked. Park Jinyoung nodded in confirmation. “As long as the artist agrees after listening to the demo track, I would say yes. Do you already have someone in mind that you would like to produce for?” Woozi nodded. “I’m sure our artists would love to work with you after seeing how successful your song for Jihyo is. So, who is it? 2PM? GOT7? Day6? Stray Kids? ITZY? NiziU?”

“The person I have in mind isn’t someone who debuted as a singer, but she still belongs to your company.”

“So, an actress? It might be a bit difficult, but I’m sure we could arrang—”

“Actually, it’s [Y/N]. You know, [L/N] [Y/N], the girl who sings backup for Jihyo-ssi?”


	24. Chapter Twenty-Three

The moment he brought up your name, the smile on Park Jinyoung’s face immediately disappeared, replaced by a look of coldness that sent shivers down Woozi’s spine. “I’m afraid that’s impossible,” the CEO said firmly.

Woozi was taken back. It was clear to everyone that you were clearly very talented. So why was it that the man in front of him — who had discovered and cultivated so many superstars in the industry — not see that in you?

“But [Y/N]-ssi’s voice is so distinctive and unique! Her talent is, dare I say, in a class of her own! She definitely deserves to debut as a soloist, instead of wasting her gifts singing backup vocals for Jihyo-ssi!”

The gaze of the businessman in front of Woozi turned even colder, unwelcoming with a hint of anger. “I think you have misunderstood what I mean when I invited you to work for me. I meant for you to produce for my artists, not manage them.”

Woozi should have backed down right there and then. It was clear as day that he was overstepping his boundaries.

But he remembered that feeling of helplessness he felt when he last spoke to you on the phone the night before. He knew how it feels to not be able to stand on the stage, under the spotlight, in front of an audience, and perform. His circumstances may be different from yours, but Woozi knew that feeling well enough.

The feeling of powerlessness, of hopelessness, and desperation.

The tight grip that Seungcheol had on his shoulder brought Woozi’s attention back to reality. His manager gave him a pleading look — one that warned him to stop this nonsense.

But Woozi had already made up his mind. He was not going to yield in this fight.

“I know I am in no position to tell you how to run your business or how to manage your artists, but as a music producer, I know that [Y/N]-ssi has what it takes to become a successful solo artist. Not only does she have the looks and the voice, but more than anything, she is extremely passionate about performing. Having worked with her for a short time on Jihyo-ssi’s track, I can tell that she loves music more than anything. You have so many talented idols under your company, I’m sure that debuting her would be beneficial to your company.”

The CEO stood up from his seat and looked down at the producer. “I think I’ve heard enough. Let’s end this meeting. Thank you for coming here today,” he hissed, the hostile tone in his voice made it clear that Woozi’s opinion would not be taken into consideration.

Knowing that this may be his last and final chance to ever speak to the decision-maker of one of the top entertainment agencies in the country, Woozi simply could not let this opportunity go to waste. Without a second thought, he said, “with all due respect, I think you’re being biased because Jihyo-ssi is your daughter.”

“Excuse me?” Park Jinyoung raised his voice as he glared at the producer, no longer trying to conceal his anger.

“Jih—”

Woozi cut off his manager’s attempt to stop this conversation from continuing. “No, Seungcheol-hyung, let me finish.” Seungcheol flinched but knew that there was no stopping Woozi now.

Woozi stood up from his seat as well. Park Jinyoung was still much taller than himself and was both physically and mentally look down at him, but Woozi paid no mind to it. “It’s undeniable that Jihyo-ssi is talented. But, in terms of vocal abilities and the expression of emotions in music, [Y/N]-ssi definitely has the upper hand. You won’t let [Y/N]-ssi debut as a solo artist because you know how much more successful she would be than your daughter, and you’re too afraid to take that risk.”

“That’s enough!” the CEO finally snapped, his face flushed with anger. “I don’t want to hear another word from you, boy!” he scoffed, emphasizing the insult. Pointing a finger at Woozi, he continued, “I have been working in the industry for over twenty years, have managed highly successful artists, and have produced more songs that topped the charts than you could ever do. I don’t need an amateur like you to tell me how I should run my business!”

Woozi froze in his spot, unable to refute.

“One order from me and no one will ever work with you again. But since your collaboration with Jihyo was successful this time, I’m letting this incident slide. However, I have lost all interest in working with you in the future. Now, get out.”

“I apologise, bu—”

“I said, get out! Don’t make me call the security on you.”

Seungcheol grabbed Woozi's arm, apologies spilling out of his lips as he pulled the producer out of the room. Woozi knew he was in big trouble — not only did he screw up the exclusive contract and the chance to work with artists from JYP ever again, but he has gotten on the bad side of Park Jinyoung, one of the most influential figures in the industry.

And from the way Seungcheol shook in anger, he already knew he had a big scolding coming.

Once they exited the company building and reached a small alleyway, his manager stopped. “What the fuck were you thinking?!” he screamed, outraged.

Woozi gulped in fear. Now that he has calmed down and left the office, he realised how impulsive and irresponsible he was acting.

Seungcheol ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “Seriously, Jihoon, have you lost your mind? It was one thing to let you and [Y/N] work together behind the company’s back, but for you to suggest something as outrageous as this to her CEO? That was a line I never knew you would cross. You’ve disappointed me, Jihoon, you really have. I thought you were more rational than this.”

“What else was I supposed to do? He said I could work with anyone in the company! I never would have imagined he would have reacted this way,” Woozi rebutted, his argument came out weak and flawed.

“Park Jinyoung is a smart businessman, he knows talent when he sees one. There’s obviously a reason why [Y/N] was assigned to be a backup singer despite her talents.”

“Well, he could have overlooked her! He doesn’t attend every single audition, there’s a talent scouting team who does that! That’s why their company has missed out on talents like IU, J-Hope and Hyolyn!”

Judging by the blank look on Seungcheol’s face, Woozi knew his manager was not having it. The manager took a deep breath as he calmed himself down. “I’m going back to the office to report this to Bumzu-hyung. You should take the rest of the day off and reflect on what you’ve done.”

His manager began to walk away, leaving the producer alone on the streets. However, before he left, he had one last thing to say. “I think you’re putting way too much effect into trying to help [Y/N] instead of trying to solve your own problems. Are you sure you’re doing this for her?”

Seungcheol’s words made Woozi’s head spin. This thought had never come across his mind before.

Maybe Seungcheol was right. Perhaps Woozi was only doing this for his own selfish reasons — one being that he was simply too afraid to face his own fears. And so, he was only using you to fulfil an unachievable dream in his place.

Maybe he was nothing but a coward.


	25. Chapter Twenty-Four

You had a bad feeling about today the moment you woke up. Something told you that you should be constantly on guard today.

And your gut feeling was right.

When you entered Jihyo’s dressing room in the morning, it was clear to you that she was in an extra bad mood. You suspected that she had gotten into an argument with Kang Daniel, for she kept checking her phone every other minute, and clicking her tongue when she had gotten no response from her boyfriend.

To make things worse, it appears that there were some technical issues with the recording equipment for the music show that she was appearing on today. Everything on the schedule had to be pushed back. The production director of the show even came personally to apologise to Jihyo.“I apologise on behalf of the whole production team,” he said with a bow so deep it almost looked like his body was folded in half.

And like always, you were the first person she picked on when things were going wrong.

“[Y/N], can you just shut the fuck up for a second? The sound of your breathing is so fucking loud,” Jihyo snapped without even looking up from her phone. You held your breath at once, too afraid to make another sound even though you knew full well that you were breathing normally just like everyone else.

All of a sudden, the idol stood up from her seat, making everyone else in the room jump up in response as well. “I’m leaving,” she announced.

Jeonghan furrowed his brows. “But we have to wait here since we don’t know when things will be working again,” the manager said.

“Well, I’m not gonna fucking sit around here waiting. Call me when they finally got all their shit sorted,” she said angrily before storming out of the room, her minions swiftly following suit. Jeonghan pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration before going after the idol as well.

Tzuyu nudged your side. “So… What are we supposed to do now?”

“Wait here, I guess…” you said, unsure either. With Jihyo out of the room, you finally released the breath that you were holding.

Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung also took a seat beside the two of you. “That was rude of her,” Chaeyoung muttered under her breath, referring to both Jihyo telling you to shut up and leaving the room. Jeongyeon shushed her assistant and stealthily pointed towards the cameras around the room.

“Oh, should I stop recording?” Tzuyu asked, already standing up from her seat to turn the cameras off.

Jeongyeon shook her head. “You can leave it on. The footage isn’t only used for vlogging purposes, but also for the company to monitor what’s happening off-stage. Let’s just be careful of what we say,” she said, giving Chaeyoung a pointed look. The younger girl mouthed an apology with a sheepish smile.

There was a knock on the door. Jeongyeon, being the eldest and the one with the most experience in the room, called out ‘come in’. Someone peaked their head through the door, and you recognised him as the guy who helped you out the day before. “I just saw Jihyo-ssi exiting the building… Is everything okay?” Jun asked.

“She has some other ‘business’ to take care of,” Jeongyeon lied, “she said to give her manager a call when everything is ready.”

Jun nodded, though his face showed that he was unconvinced. “Well… I was told that things should be ready in half an hour, and they said to let Jihyo-ssi record first instead…” he trailed off. Everyone in the room understood why such arrangements were made — the music show could not afford to further infuriate the daughter of one of the biggest agencies in the industry.

“Great, I’ll give Jeonghan-ssi a call now,” Jeongyeon said with a nod, thanking the staff for his help.

Jun smiled. “[Y/N]-ssi, would you like to come and get ready so we could start immediately when Jihyo-ssi comes back?”

“Okay,” you replied, wanting to make their jobs a little easier. Plus, you would much rather not be in the waiting room when Jihyo comes back later. The more you could avoid her, the less likely you would be picked on by the singer.

As you were on your way backstage with Jun, you realised that you had seen him two days in a row at different broadcasting stations. You voiced out your thoughts. “Oh,” he let out a laugh, “I sort of work as a freelancer so I come in to work wherever and whenever I’m needed.”

It was the first time you have heard about something like this. You always thought that station staff only worked at one station on a contract basis for security reasons. But then again, you did not know much about the world of broadcasting, so maybe a situation like Jun’s was more common than you had thought.

“I didn’t think that was a thing. I thought everyone here worked on a contract basis,” you told him honestly.

“That used to be the major trend. But now, a lot more people are working as freelancers in the industry, which is why there’s been a growing number of people who have several part-time jobs on the side, and it’s quite common to see people ending up switching to work in a different industry,” Jun explained.

You have always set eyes on becoming a musician and had never even considered other career choices, so to hear about other jobs was interesting. “Do you have other side jobs, Jun-ssi?” you asked again, genuinely curious about his work.

He let out a burst of laughter that almost sounded forced to your ears. “Well, I have a few…” he answered without meeting your eyes.

However, before you could ask more questions, Jun excused himself immediately once the two of you reached the backstage area. His reaction was suspicious, and it almost felt like he was trying to avoid your attempt to dig deeper into his work. But, you remembered that you two barely knew each other. ‘ _ He must think I’m super nosey now, _ ’ you thought.

The sound engineer handed you the microphone and asked you to wait aside as they went through the final checkups before soundcheck began.

As your eyes wandered around, you spotted someone walking towards your direction. She had a dazzling smile on her face as she politely greeted every single staff member she walked past with a bow.

You instantly recognised her as Im Nayeon, another extremely popular idol who debuted only a week after Jihyo. You heard Jihyo voice her dislike towards Nayeon on multiple occasions, so it was no secret that the two of them had some sort of rivalry going on. They were both soloists with similar cutesy concepts. Not to mention, not only did they debut at a similar date, but their comebacks were always scheduled for the same periods.

Thinking she was going to walk past you, you stepped back to lean against the wall behind you so you would not be in her way. Instead, she stopped right in front of you.

“You’re [Y/N]-ssi, right?”


End file.
